
Class _SLLk^ 



WELSH SETTLEMENT 



OF 

\ 



PENSYLVANIA 



BY 

CHARLES H. BROWNING 



PHILADELPHIA 

WILLIAM J. CAMPBELL 

1912 






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WELSH SETTLEMENT 

OF 

PENSYLVANIA 



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"THERE ARE SOME TOPICS OF LOCAL HISTORY 
WHICH ARE PURELY LOCAL AND NOTHING- ELSE, 
AND THERE ARE THOSE WHICH, WHILE NO LESS 
IMPORTANT TO THE HISTORY OF THE LOCALITY, 
ARE ALSO OF SIGNIFICANCE WITH RESPECT TO 
THE LARGER ONE OF THE NATION." 

John Franklin Jameson, Ph.D., LL.B. 



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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2010 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/welshsettlemento01brow 



To the memory of 
SAMUEL JOUES LEVICK, 

a minister among Friends for forty-five years ; 
"a man of strong- and earnest convictions ; deeply 

interested in public affairs, both national and 

local; active in the work of organizing charities, 

and an enthusiastic laborer for the abolition of 

slavery," 

are dedicated 
these annals of the pioneer Welsh Friends of 
Pensylvania, from m.any of whom he was descended. 



[5] 



CONTENTS. 

Arranging Welsh settlement 11- 29 

Welsh land companies 33- 42 

Thomas and Jones' land patent 45- 59 

Merion adventurers 63- 78 

Families and lands of first arrivals 79- 92 

Families and lands of second arrivals 95-138 

Lloyd and Davies' land patent 141-161 

John Bevan's land patent 163-173 

John and Wynne's land patent 175-193 

Lewis David's land patent 195-203 

Richard Thomas' land patent 207-212 

Richard David's land patent 213-248 

Welsh planters and servants 249-276 

Welsh Friends' pedigrees 279-302 

Annals of the Welsh settlers 305-324 

Welsh Tract affairs 327-416 

Welsh Tract townships 419-493 

Merion, Haverford and Radnor 497-589 

Appendix 591-597 

Index 599 



[6] 



PICTURES AND MAPS. 

Merion Meeting House Frontispiece 

Map of the Thomas and Jones tract, in 1683-4 31 

Merion Meeting House 43 

Location of Merion Meeting's land, 1695-1804 60 

A section of Holme's Map of Pa., {circa 1688) 124 

A section of Scull & Heap's Map of Pa., 1750 162 

A section of Read's Map of Pa 174 

Locations of first Meeting Houses 194 

Haverford tp., (1690) , east part 204 

Haverford tp., (1690) , west part 232 

Friends going to Haverford' Mo. Mtg 304 

Thomas & Jones' tract, circa, 1700 376 

Holme's Map of the Welsh Tract 416 

The Thomas and Jones tract about 1850 494 

Merion Meeting House 498 

Recent survey of Merion Meeting land 560 

Merion Meeting House 561 



[7] 



WELSH QUAKER 

EMIGRATION 
TO PENSYLVANIA 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENNSYLVANIA 



FRIENDS IN WALES 

In Pensylvania, there is no more ancient public building 
preserved, that is so intimately associated with the settle- 
ment of the State, in its provincial period, than the Merion 
Meeting House, a stone-built house of God. It is one of 
the very few remaining links suggesting the days of Wil- 
liam Penn, and it is the oldest. 

The march of public improvement and progress is pass- 
ing, leaving it the same House, growing older, but not de- 
caying, of hallowed memories, which was the first perma- 
nent place for public religious meetings of the first settlers 
of the region in which it stands, ever an interesting relict 
of days long passed, of early colonial, or provincial times 
and customs of the greatest of the American common- 
wealths. 

Its oldest part, completed in the year 1695, as its date- 
stone tells, the possible successor of a more modest and 
unpretentious Meeting House, stands as a firm, rock-built, 
permanent land-mark, in Lower Merion tovimship, Mont- 
gomery county, at the intersection of Montgomery avenue, 
and Meeting House Road, a short distance from the city 
line. 

*Twas on one of those 

"Pair First-day mornings, 
Steeped in summer calm," 

that I made my first visit to this Friends' Meeting. Any 
day it is worth more than the time you will spend on a visit 

[11] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

there, "for conscience sake," if not out of interest, or cu- 
riosity. 

You will find a large, double iron gate, just west of the 
picturesque and quaint "General Wayne Inn, Established in 
1704," that yields to pressure, for it's never locked, and ad- 
mits you to a clean, rolled gravel driveway leading upwards 
through a well kept lawn to the old building, past the usual 
shelter for horses, for the merciful are merciful to their 
beasts, shaded by tall sycamore, or buttonwood trees, na- 
tive to the soil, ancient you may see, for their girths are 
near twenty feet, which have witnessed the passing to wor- 
ship, or to mourn, of many generations of Friends. 

You will find that the Meeting House seems to stand on 
a natural elevation, but the ground is really only a part of 
the level fields about it, and that it is the bounding roadbeds 
that here have been cut down to a plane which gives it the 
apparent elevation. The lawn about the old building has a 
luxurious growth of clover, and is sufficiently shaded by 
trees not so old as those you have passed under, and, on the 
whole, is a restful spot, "far from the madding crowd," that 
has been enjoyed by thousands in days gone by, and is likely 
to be for longer, for there is never any lack of funds to 
keep the place in perfect condition and beauty. 

This lawn on which the old house stands, to one side, is 
of the shape of a triangle, being bounded on two sides by 
the intersecting public roads, while the third, or base, may 
be said, rests on an end of the rectangularly spaced grave 
yard. All about the property is a strong, stone retaining 
wall, which it was necessary to build when the public roads 
were cut down and leveled, topped with an iron fence, 
which gives the grounds a park-like appearance, and, with 
the Meeting House, makes it notable in this locality, to the 
thousands motoring and driving on the adjacent avenues. 

Outwardly you will find the Meeting House attractive in 
appearance for it has some architecturally distinctive 
marks and features, absent in the usually plain, unpreten- 

[12] 



ARRANGING WELSH SETTLEMENT 

tious Friends' Meeting Houses, which suggests that its 
builders were men of refined taste, who could design and 
erect a meeting house at once plain and unassuming, but at 
the same time attractive to the senses. Yet, withal, it is a 
little modest stone building that has withstood the elements 
for over two centuries, and so will probably remain to the 
end, an accommodation for all of its congregations, a quaint 
and charming bit of colonial architecture, with its three 
gables, and as a whole, a remarkable one, for it is the only 
Friends' Meeting House erected into the shape of a T, or 
of a "tau cross," the "crux commissa," which latter design 
is so incongruous with Friends' taste, it must be considered 
an accident that this Friends' Meeting House was built cru- 
ciform. 

In a general description, the Meeting House faces the 
South, and the transept, east and west, a gable pointing 
towards three of the chief points of the compass. In the 
western gable end of the transept may be seen a small stone, 
set into the wall, above a vdndow, with the legend: 

BUILT 

1695 
REPAIRED 

1829 

And on the lintel of the window in the Eastern gable may 
be seen the engraved date, "1829." Of these dates, and what 
they indicate, will be told further on. 

A generous "front-door" on the South side of what may 
be presumed to be the stem of the cross, opens on a covered 
wooden stoop, and two side doors are sheltered by the stiff 
hoods common to the Meeting House of early construction. 

Anciently, this may have been an ideal spot for a Friends' 
Meeting House, but now it seems better adapted for a mis- 
sion, since its nearest neighbors are a tavern, "where they 
sell liquor," but a quiet, orderly place, and not unlike the 

[13] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

road-houses of England, and a popular race track. But to 
maintain the religious atmosphere, its third neighbor is 
the great convent house and estate of the Sisters of Mercy, 
a teaching order. Between the walls of the convent grave 
yard, where Sisters are buried, and the Meeting House, 
lays the "Friends' Ground," the grave yard of the Merion 
Meeting, protected from trespass by a stone wall, sur- 
mounted by an iron fence. 

Passing through its ever open iron gates, unheeding 
the weather beaten warning, "All Trespassing Forbidden," 
and going up the long, straight gravel walk, bisecting the 
grounds, where 

"Round about, the old Frie'nds sleep, 
Grave women, earnest men," 

you may notice that innovation has reached this long-time 
secluded spot, as it has other Meetings' grave yards, for 
there are inscribed stones marking graves, something the 
Founders and early members of this Meeting would not 
have tolerated. However, these cannot be classed as tomb- 
stones, or monuments, for they are little, modest affairs, 
never taller than two feet which superceded equally low 
head and foot boards to the graves, and for this reason 
many have sank as if ashamed, so that the grass hides 
them, and the simple legends they bear are difficult to read. 
There are only about 200 graves thus marked, which is but 
a small percentage of the thousands of people here interred, 
one above the other, in two centuries, and, singular to re- 
late, one-third of the stones tell they are in loving remem- 
brance of people who died over eighty years of age, thus 
evidencing, as claimed, that "Quaker habits promote lon- 
gevity." These modest gi-ave-stones tell the barest details 
of the departed ; only their names and span of life, engraved 
on the upper edge, in the strata, and for this reason are soon 
rendered unreadable by the elements of the weather. 

As the majority of the stones tell of Friends who died 
after 1830, it may be presumed it was about that decade of 

[14] 



ARRANGING WELSH SETTLEMENT 

the last century, shortly after the Society became divided 
into two branches, generally known as "orthodox" and 
"Hicksites," and the latter Friends, who, however, do not 
recognize this appellation, calling themselves simply 
"Friends," got control of this Meeting, they being more lib- 
eral in their views of such matters, when non-Friends, but 
descendents of members of the Society, began to be buried 
here, and the taste and desire for marble marking stones 
prevailed, for the stones recording earlier decease may have 
been erected long subsequent to the event, since they do not 
have the appearance of more age than their neighbors of 
later dates, and there are several that tell of deaths in the 
last decade of the 18th century. 

And it is also notable that such members of the Friends' 
families who served as soldiers in the Civil War, are buried 
here, and bear the little marker-flags placed by the loving 
hands of their living companions, the members of the So- 
ciety of the Grand Army of the Republic on Memorial Day. 
This spot, hallowed by dear and sad memories, may in 
a few years be in the midst of a dense population, the over- 
flow from the city, but now, of a summer's day, only the 
far-off ring of a blacksmith's hammer, or the occasional tap 
of the convent bell, or the quick rush of an "auto," is the 
only commotion that disturbs its continual calm. 

In some respects, this may be like a hundred other 
Friends' Meeting Houses, which called for the lines from 
the Quaker poet, John Russell Hayes: 

"I love the old Meeting Houses, — ^how my heart 

Goes out to these dear, silent homes of prayer. 

With all their quietude and rustic charm; 

Their loved associations and pathetic solitude; 

Their tranquil and pathetic solitude; 

Their hallowed Memories!" 

But the old Merion Meeting, and its house has enough 
personality to make it distinguishable. 

No picture of the neighborhood, in which this ancient 
House stands, can be painted better by the pen, to compare 

[15] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

its site with what it was in the extreme past, than the com- 
mercial statement, the land in its vicinity, which was 
bought from Penn for only five pence an acre, is now being 
sold for more than five thousand dollars an acre, and a mile 
beyond, at Wynnewood and at Ardmore, for fifteen thou- 
sand dollars an acre! Which means, the inhabitants of 
Penn's "City of Brotherly Love," once miles away, and 
whose buildings could be counted on the fingers of one hand 
when the Welsh Quakers pitched their tents here, have 
brought it into sight of the door of the old Meeting House, 
and have thus enhanced the value of the land about it. The 
subui'ban population surrounds it; villages have grown-up 
about it ; it has become accessible by steam and electric cars, 
and by well-kept avenues, this ancient, vine-grown old stone 
Meeting House, to which Friends for years came afoot and 
horse-back, along the bridle-paths and lanes through the 
wild woods, but whose descendants now roll up to meetings 
in luxurious limousines. 

This Merion Meeting House, as it stands, was not only 
the first place of public worship erected for the original 
settlers of the territory west of the Schuylkill river, dis- 
tant from the limit of the proposed city of Philadelphia, and 
just without its present bounds, by the Welsh Friends, who 
began to remove here in the summer of 1682, but the first 
public house of worship or church building put up in the 
Commonwealth, and, as may be seen hereafter, it was also 
the first "town hall' erected in it. And I understand it was 
the first permanent Meeting House for Friends erected in 
America. 

The story of the experiences of the earliest Welsh settlers 
in "Merioneth Town," or "Merion Town," as the district in 
which this Meeting House stands, was at first called, in 
honor of the sliire in Wales from which its first settlers 
came, or Merion township, as it came officially to be desig- 
nated, and of the "towns" of "Harfod," or Haverford, and 
Radnor, continguous to it, from the year of first settlement, 

[16] 



AKRANGING WELSH SETTLEMENT 

1682, will be told by their extant letters written to friends 
at "home," has none of the thrilling tales of hardship and 
adventure, of "battle, murder and sudden death," that em- 
bellishes, and saddens those of the first comers into Virginia 
and New England, a half-century earlier, nor those of the 
pioneers of the Cumberland Valley, the Valley of Virginia, 
or of Kentucky, when beginning the "winning of the West," 
a half-century later. Nor did these Friends — "those devil- 
driven heretics," as the Rev. Cotton Mather, of New Eng- 
land, called the Quakers in his "Magnalia," — have to suffer 
from the "sharp laws" of Massachusetts, and New Eng- 
land Puritan intolerance, and any there who did, soon 
found their way to Pennsylvania. 

Writing of these early days, with his facile pen in his 
"Quaker School Boy," Friend Isaac Sharpless says, "It was 
a venture, as all emigration is, but the results were happy. 
There vras none of the suffering of Massachusetts and Vir- 
ginia. The wise arrangement of Penn had made the red- 
men more than friends. The Quaker home, and children, 
were left in perfect security, while the adult attended Quar- 
terly Meeting." 

And the Welsh Friends were hardly forerunners even in 
the land, for the way had long been made clear for their 
peaceful entrance into their purchased lands, and many 
were able to be seated at the very first on old "Indian fields," 
and on clearings made by their predecessors, the Swedes, 
Dutch and early English, who came up here from the old 
settlements on the lower Delaware. But as these choice 
spots were, as we may see, soon claimed by Penn as his pri- 
vate property, their tenure of them was brief. That Penn 
appreciated them highly may be seen from his letter of 
16, 8m 0. 1683, to the Free Society of Traders in Pensylva- 
nia, in which he says, "There are also very good peaches, 
and in great quantities, not an Indian plantation without 
them, they make a pleasant drink," hence the "insidious 
punch" of peach brandy and honey. 

[17] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

The Delaware river country had been opened for fifty- 
odd years to settlers, on both of its lower banks, and consid- 
erable land was being cultivated and farmed, in peace, with- 
out fear, though not comfort possibly, as we understand it, 
vjhen the Welsh Friends removed to Penn's new province, 
where he "would found a free colony for all mankind that 
shall go thither," as his land-sale advertisements stated. 
Therefore, the story of their first years in America is al- 
most devoid of especial interest in respect to what makes 
that of older colonies here so prominent. 

Yet, although it may be only that of domesticity — simply 
the transfer of "home" across the sea, from one peaceful site 
to another, with only discomforts incidental to removal and 
travel, and re-establishment, to enliven it, theirs is the story 
of active participation in the founding of the Common- 
wealth of Pensylvania. 

They had longed 

"For a lodge in some vast wilderness, 
Some boundless contiguity of shade," 

and they certainly were accommodated, these Welsh of 
English nationality, but their settling in Pensylvania was 
not a complete severance from "home," to which kin and 
ancestors still bound them for several generations. 

Although, like the Sv/edes of the "South River country," 
and the Dutch of New Netherlands, the Welsh of the Schuyl- 
kill, who, hov/ever, ceased coming over in any great number 
after the "sufferings" were stopped in their native land, or 
when they learned that Penn had not kept to his promises 
to the early colonists, as will be explained hereafter; were 
engulfed, disappearing as a separate race in a few years, in 
the great flood of English to our shores, and lost their iden- 
tity, and Welsh characteristics, swallowed up by the cos- 
mopolitan development of our country, and even the use of 
their distinctive tongue. * The moral influence and teachings 



*The Welsh language may have been understood, spoken and writ- 
ten and read and preferred by the Welsh Quakers generally in Pen- 

[18] 



ARRANGING WELSH SETTLEMENT 

the Welsh members of the religious Society of Friends, "the 
people vulgarly called Quakers," with their Cymric blood, 
an industrious, hardy race, were instilled into the commu- 
nity of strangers which grew up about them, and in which 
they were finally absorbed, grown into the fibre and woof of 
our great nation, for, there is hardly a present-day family of 
any prominence, or social pretentions, in Pensylvania, or in 
the "West," having colonial ancestry, that cannot claim, with 
truth, an ancestor among the early Welsh Friends of this 
Commonwealth, and they are proud in being able to do so 
for reasons that may appear hereafter. | In this connection 
the late Dr. Levick said in a public address, "The early 
Welsh settlers of Philadelphia, and its vicinity, belonged to 
a race which has left its impress, in a very marked manner, 
on the character of its descendants to the present day." 



sylvania, for, as will appear, they desired, and expected that the 
civil affairs of the whole Welsh Tract would be determined by officers 
and juries "of our language." But English was the prevailing lan- 
guage with the Welsh Quakers in the "Haverford and Merion towns," 
as the earliest settlers therein were of the upper, educated class of 
Wales, and were often at London, and among the English. But in 
Radnor Township there were many Welsh who did not understand 
English, for, as late as in 1707, the Welsh Episcopalians then peti- 
tioned the Bishop of London to send them a rector who could read 
and speak both Welsh and English. They were the founders of the 
P. E. Church of St. Davids. In other parts, and in the Gwynedd 
settlement, however, the Welsh language a'nd customs obtained dis- 
tinctively for many years, and many of the wills, and documents 
issued by the people of the latter section were in the Welsh tongue, 
as, for instance, as late as 1712, the subscription paper passed around, 
for collecting funds to rebuild the Gwynedd Meeting House, in which 
House ministers had to speak alternately in Welsh and English, in 
the same address. 



$The Welsh origin for the Pensylvania families of Adams, Apthorp, 
Arnold, Bevan, Cadwalader, David, Davies, Evans, Ellis, Edwards, 
Foulke, Floyd, Griffith, Guinn, Gwynne, Hughs, Humphreys, Howell, 
Hewes, Henry, Harry, Jones, John, Lloyd, Lewis, Morris, Morgan, 
Owen, Price, Powell, Paul, Penn, Pugh, Richards, Rice, Reese, Rob- 
erts, Thomas, Williams, Wynne, etc., can easily be imagined. 

[19] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

And Mr. Benjamin H. Smith, in an interesting article in a 
recent number of the magazine of the Historical Society 
of Pensylvania, concerning the lands in Merion of the first 
coming Welshmen, whose sturdy honesty and integrity he 
recognized, says, "they were prominent and respected citi- 
zens in their own country," and "those who came to Pen- 
sylvania took a leading part in the development of the new 
colony, and many of their descendants have borne distin- 
guished names in literature, science, and public affairs." 

Before entering into sketches of the Founders of the 
Friends' Merion Meeting, and of their Meeting House, and 
of the people prominently connected with it in its earliest 
years, and of its present-day members, and the same, inci- 
dentally, of the other meetings composing the Haverford or 
Radnor Monthly Meeting, it should not be uninteresting to 
review some of the events leading up to its establishing as 
introductory to them. 

Immediately after William Penn was in full possession of 
the Royal Grant for the territory in America, then named, 
and so v/ritten for fifty years subsequently in public doc- 
uments, and frequently in preserved private letters of the 
Quakers, "Pensylvania," he began to advertise, and can- 
vass for purchasers and settlers for it. He first began his 
efforts within the Society of Friends, of which he was a 
prominent minister, and well knovm to thousands, advertis- 
ing his province as an ideal asylum, or home, for them, with 
life there everything they might desire, appealing especially 
to those who were unhappy and dissatisfied, for various 
reasons, more or less serious, with their conditions in life. 

Though it is unnecessary to bring to mind the many, 
many "sufferings" experienced by the Friends when the 
"church people" must have studied Collier's "Art of Inge- 
niously Tormenting," because of dislike to military duties; 
objections to paying tithes to support the "Established 
Church," their piety, and especially their public worship, 
a matter that was positively forbidden by acts of parlia- 

[20] 



ARRANGING WELSH SETTLEMENT 

ment, one of these edicts to suppress "seditious conventi- 
cles," however, it is proper to mention here, as in it are the 
names of Welshmen who removed to Pensylvania, or the 
fathers of others. 

This particular "edict" is dated 20 of May, 1675, and is 
signed by Humphey Hughes and John Wynne, constables. 
But it is not the notice that these Welshmen "met unlaw- 
fully under pretence of religion," and that the constables 
were ordered to "levy on them by way of distress," but it is 
the list of names given in the schedule, accompanying it, of 
those on whom they were to levy the fines, that is of inter- 
est. 

"The names of those that unlawfully met together att 
Llwyn y Braner, within ye parish of Llanvaur, upon ye 16th 
day of May, being Sunday, 1675. Oathes being made they 
were present formerly in unlawful meetings within three 
months. 

"First conviction on the oathes of Owen D'd, and Thomas 
Jones. 

"Second conviction, and warrant of arrest for the Double 
fine, on oath of Robert Evans." 

(Each of these following was fined ten shillings.) 

"John David John, and his wife, of Cilltalgarth. 

Hugh Roberts, and his wife, of the same place. 

Cadwalader Thomas, of the same place. 

Robert David, of the same place. 

Robert Owen, of Vron Goch. 

Elin Owen, of the same. 

John Thomas ap Hugh, of Llaythgywm. 

John ap Edward, of Nanlleidiog. 

Evan Edwards, of Cynlas. 

Peter Owen, of Bettws y Coed. 

Robert John, of Pen maen. 

Margaret John, of same place. 

Hugh John Thomas, of Nanlleidiog. 

His Sonne and daughter. 

[21] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Litter Thomas, of Llandervel. 

Jane Morris, of Pen maen. 

Edward Griffith, of Llaetgwm. 

Edward Reese, of Llantgervel. 

John James, of the same. 

William Morgan, of Llanecill. 

Owen David, of Cilttalgarth. 

John William, of the same place. 

Anne, verch David, widow, of Pen maen." 

This schedule, with the order, is preserved among the 
mass of MSS. which the wife and widow of John Thomas 
brought ever here in 1683, now in possession of Lewis Jones 
Levick, Esqr., of Bala, (Philadelphia), who inherited them. 
It came into John's possession while serving as constable^ 
and he endorsed on it : 

"Evan Owen ye son of a widow called Gainor, whose late 
husband was Owen ap Evan, of Vron Goch, was convicted 
by oath to be present at a meeting, though but 9 or 10 years 
old." 

Penn's advertisements of his American possessions (he 
was his own sales-agent), readily appealed to Friends of 
every race, but the very first to take advantage of his gen- 
erous and alluring offers, which he well knew how to make 
attractive, for he had had only recently some valuable expe- 
rience in getting settlers for West Jersey when attending 
to Friend Billing's embarrassed estate there, and which sug- 
gested to him the scheme of having a great American ter- 
ritory for himself, and selling it out, giving him a perma- 
nent income in quit-rents, were the Friends in Wales. 

But, to go back a little of this story of Welsh interests in 
Pensylvania. 

The principal missionary of introduction of the teachings 
and belief of Friends into Wales was one John ap John, 
cf "Plas Ifa" (Plas Eva, or Plas Evan), at Trevor, a ham- 
let near Ruabon and Wrexham, in Langollen parish, Den- 
bighshire, then a pastoral country, but now given over to 

[22] 



ARRANGING WELSH SETTLEMENT 

brickyards. He was born at Trevor Issa, about 1625-30, 
and baptised at the parish church, and became a member 
of a non-conforming congregation in the parish of Wrex- 
ham, in Denbighshire. In some way, the tenets and teach- 
ings of the learned apostle of Quakerism, George Fox, had 
reached this assembly in fragments. The meager reports 
of the lectures of this eminently successful minister seemed 
plausible and pleasing, but to be better instructed, the min- 
ister of the congregation, the Rev. Morgan Lloyd, sent tkis 
John, of "Plas Ifa," with a companion, to attend some of 
the meetings and make himself familiar with the precepts 
taught by Mr. Fox, and report them to it. Telling of this 
John ap John, Mr. Fox says he had been a "minister." He 
was probably of the Parliamentary party, and may have 
been a chaplain at "Bewmarres," or Beaumaris, where he 
lived, in the army in the latter years of the Protectorate. 

The result of this mission is thus noticed by Mr. Fox in 
his "Journal," (p. 123, of London, 1694, edition) : "When 
these triers came down among us the power of the Lord 
overcame them, and they were both of them convinced of 
the Truth, they returned into Wales, where John ap John 
abode in the Truth, and received a gift in the ministry, to 
which he continued faithful." 

Thus it came about that John ap John was the founder 
of the Society of Friends in Wales. Small Meetings were 
organized everywhere by him and co-laborers, at first se- 
cretly, but it was not till after the "toleration" act of Par- 
liament was passed, that the Society became regularly or- 
ganized into "Quarterly Meetings," and irregular "Yearly 
Meetings" were held at Swansea, in 1681, and at Redstone, 
near Narberth, in Pembrokeshire, on 5 2mo, 1682„ But 
the first Yearly (or Half- Yearly) Meeting regularly organ- 
ized according to Friends' rules was held at the house of 
Ellis Morris, at Dolgyn, near Dolgelly, in Merionethshire, 
on 7, 3mo, 1683. In 1684, the Yearly Meeting was at Hav- 
erfordwest, at which William Humphrey, of Llanegryn, 

[23] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Merioneth, promised and undertook to write up the "suf- 
ferings" of the Welsh Friends, in the years past. A subject 
so enlarged, subsequently, by Friend Besse, that it is only 
contained in two large printed volumes, since he records the 
sufferings of Friends in all lands. At the Yearly Meeting 
at Garthgynvor, near Dolgelly, in 1685, there were in at- 
tendance these "gentlemen," who had a part in the found- 
ing of the Merion Meeting. Charles Lloyd and Richard Da- 
vies, from Montgomeryshire; Roger ap John, and John 
ap John, and Richard Davies, from Denbighshire. The dele- 
gates to the great Yearly Meeting, at London, in 1688, when 
the Welsh Friends were first represented were Richard Da- 
vies, representing North Wales, and James Lewis, South 
Wales, 

And of this John the son of John, the late Dr. Levick, of 
Philadelphia, said in an address delivered before the His- 
torical Society of Pensylvania, 13 month, 1893* : "He was 
the Apostle of Quakerism in Wales," and he "was the direct 
agent, under Providence, in bringing about changes which 
resulted in the settlement so largely by Welsh emigrants of 
the Township of Merion." 

And this is the good authority for John ap John, the 
first minister among Welsh Friends, having been the Father 
of the "Welsh Tract" in Pensylvania, and of the variously 
called Merion, Haverford, or Radnor Monthly Meeting, in 
it, and it was natural that he should head the committee of 
Welsh Friends who first interviewed Penn about buying 
some of his land in Am.erica, and removing thither, and as 
this was but shortly after he had entered into possession, 
it is possible that John was in Penn's confidence, and had 
the earliest information of the consummation of his bargain 
with the King, and suggested to the Welsh to secure the best 
lands. 



♦Pensylvania Mag^., XVII, 385, etc. 

fSee further as to John ap John in The Journal of the Friends' His- 
torical Society, London, Suppleme'nt, No. 6, 1907. 

[24] 



ARRANGING WELSH SETTLEMENT 

The material inducements to purchase his land, and re- 
move to it, that Penn offered, no doubt was made to the 
Welsh Friends through John ap John, and they can be im- 
agined. Surely they were sufficiently attractive, for a com- 
mittee, probably gotten together by John, and representing 
Monthly Meetings of a half dozen Welsh shires, decided 
upon going to London to interview him personally before 
investing, for the Welsh were ever a cautious race. 

The gentlemen, — who may, or may not have gone in a 
body, — who sought this conference with Penn on the part of 
themselves, and the Meetings of which they were members, 
is the first Roll of Honor connected with "New Wales," 
"Cambria," or "The Welsh Tract," as the lands, in Penn's 
Province, in which they became interested, were variously 
known at first. 

These delegates, on the part of the Welsh Friends, who 
went on this mission, gentlemen all according to land deeds, 
were: 

John ap John, of Ruabon, Denbigshire. 

Dr. Thomas Wynne, of Caerwys, Flintshire. 

Richard ap Thomas, of Whitford Game, Flintshire. 

Dr. Griffith Owen, of Dolserre, Merionethshire. 

Dr. Edward Jones, of Bala, Merionethshire. 

John ap Thomas, of Llaithgwm, Merionethshire. » 

Hugh Roberts, of Llanvawr, Merionethshire. 

Thomas Ellis, of Dolserre, Merionethshire. 

Charles Lloyd, of Dolobran, Montgomeryshire. 

Richard Davies, of Welshpool, Montgomeryshire. 
"^ John Bevan, of Treverigg, Glamorganshire. 

Lewis ap David, of Llandewy Velfry, Pembrokeshire. 

There were others, among them Edward Prichard, Wil- 
liam Jenkins, and John Burge, who went to talk with Penn 
about the same time, but the list aforesaid includes the 
leaders in the movement for Pensylvania land (although 
there is evidence that John Roberts and Robert Owen, who 

[25] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

came over to Pensylvania, were also present) , and who had 
the interview with Penn, in London, in Maj, 1681, of ^rhichs, 
unfortunately for the Welsh, no written report was kept^ 
and was, as will be explained, the cause of a serious misun- 
derstanding subsequently. 

Of these gentlemen, the three "practitioners in physics,"" 
and Messrs. Beyan, Roberts, Ellis and Owen, removed to 
Pensylvania and aided in settling the Welsh people on the 
lands purchased from them. 

What Penn particularly promised these gentlemen, if 
they would induce the members of their Monthly Meetings 
to buy his land, and settle upon it, other than its fine qual- 
ity, and his liberal guarantee of freedom from certain an- 
noyances they had to put up with in Wales, was shortly, and 
is yet, partly a matter of conjecture and surmise as to its 
details and particulars, for Penn's promises to them were 
only verbally made. But these certain great expectations, 
with which these Welsh gentlemen claimed Penn had lured 
them to America, had vouching only by slender circumstan- 
tial evidence, and hearsay, his English lieutenants and al- 
leged friends in Philadelphia held. Nevertheless, the Welsh- 
men averred, and stuck to it, though little good it did them,, 
as we shall see, that Penn's encouragement was, in part, 
they should have their whole purchase, the "Welsh Tract," 
as a "Barony," or State, as it were, within his Province, 
"within which all causes, quarrels, crimes and disputs might 
be tried and wholly determined by officers, magistrates, and 
juries of our language." 

However, this committee having engaged to take and try 
to dispose of by sale to the other Welsh Friends, 40,000, or 
more acres, of Penn's land, returned to their several Month- 
ly Meetings, and reported, and published Penn's "Articles 
of Conditions and Concessions" concerning his Province, to 
which they had subscribed before leaving London, — ideas of 
settlement he had re-written from the "Articles of Freedom 
and Exemption" compiled by the Dutch West India Com- 

[26] 



ARRANGING WELSH SETTLEMENT 

pany for a like purpose. So alluring were their statements, 
based on Penn's promises, fresh in their recollections, they 
had no trouble in getting Friends to subscribe immediately, 
till their sales, and the lands they themselves would take, 
amounted to 30,000 acres, and thus it was that these well 
known, reliable gentlemen, in six Welsh counties, became 
the first Pensylvania real estate agents. 

The men who interviewed Penn, and those concerned with 
them, were nearly all of the highest social caste of the landed 
gentry of Wales, as has been frequently proved in recent 
years on investigation, for it is well known that in Wales 
the upper class readily embraced Quakerism, through the 
teachings of John ap John, one of themselves, while in Eng- 
land the gentry did not, as there converts were confined en- 
tirely to the "plain people" — the small lease-holding, the 
yeomandry, farmers, tradesmen, and shopkeepers, — and this 
fact has occasioned the astonishment that William Penn, 
an aristocrat by birth and association, against the wishes 
of his family, became a Quaker. So it may be understood 
that the committee of Welsh Friends were equals and peers 
of Penn, and for this reason he may have readily agreed to 
any propositions they made, though afterwards he certainly 
was most jealous of concessions. 

Surely, he must have been pleased to have the Welsh gen- 
try head his list of grantees, and promise to remove their 
families to their purchases, for it would have a good effect 
on his sales, especially when it became knovim that the best 
class of the Welsh were going, carrying refinement and edu- 
cation into his Province, for his was a tremendous proposi- 
tion to undertake single-handed, and the countenance of his 
scheme by gentry was a great help to him. 

It was a great disappointment to all, but John ap John, of 
"Plas Ifa," who was indirectly the progenitor of the Haver- 
ford Monthly Meeting, did not remove to Pensylvania. 
Concerning him, the late Dr. Levick said in an address, that 
after a long search he learned that John died on 16, 9mo, 

[27] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

1697, at the residence of his son-in-law, John Miller, of 
Whitehough Manor, and was buried in Friends' ground at 
Bashford, near-by, in Staffordshire, where no stone, or me- 
morial marks the grave of this first apostle of Friends' 
teachings in Wales. He also learned that in 1712, the 
Friends' Yearly Meeting, of North Wales, desired to collect 
and acquire his MSS. to preserve them, but they could never 
be found. Since Dr. Levick's investigations and death, the 
interest in John ap John, which he started, has continued, 
and the following further data has been discovered of him. 

He married about 1664, Catharine, either daughter of 
John Trevor, of Trevor Hall, and Valle Crucis Abbey, or 
daughter of Roger ap John, of Ruabon. About 1653, Roger 
ap John and John ap John were signers of a positive denial 
that certain Quakers came into Wrexham to gain proselytes 
at their meetings, and that "after a long silence, sometimes 
one, sometimes more, fell into great and dreadful shakings, 
with swellings in their bodies, sending out skreekings and 
howlings !" 

An extant paper, at the Devonshire House, London, (Gib- 
son Bequest MSS. II, 33), has been discovered, signed by 
John ap John, saying that, in the year 1653, his "under- 
standing was opened." And, "In my Jvgment I have byn 
perswaeded vnto the Establishment & setelment thereof & 
as occasion served, both in Words & praodies J denied ye 
paement of tithys & becos of ye same Denial i cam to siffer 
ye loss of corn, hay, lams, peegs, yieves, kids & mvch thret- 
nings with pikyls and other waes." 

In another paper he mentions his conversion to Quaker- 
ism as follows : "The 2 day of the 5 month, 1673. This time 
20 years Agoee was ye time that I John Ap John was at 
Swart Moore with George ffoox in Lankashire. Yt was ye 
ffvrst time yt I soe Go ffox." 

From sundry mention of him, it is learned that sometimes 
with Mr. Fox, but more often alone, he traveled all over 
Wales, preaching to any that would listen to him. But he 

[28] 



ARRANGING WELSH SETTLEMENT 

did not accompany Mr. Fox in England. At Brecknock, in 
1657, he "was moved of the Lord to speak in the Streets," \ 
which occasioned a tumult. At Tenby, he "went to the \ 
Steeple House" to speak, which was not unusual at that 
time, as, when the "priest" had finished his services, the 
church could be used by Presbyterians, or Independents, 
but John was arrested and jailed till Mr. Fox got him re- 
leased. At several other places he was arrested for "speak- 
ing through the Town," and at his sometime home, Beau- 
maris, he was imprisoned "for public speaking." John also 
traveled through Wales preaching with John Burnyeat, in 
1674, after Bumyeat's second return from America. To- 
gether, they attended a Quarterly Meeting at the home of 
Charles Lloyd, at Dolobran. Besse's "Sufferings" of the 
Quakers, of course, tells more of John ap John's experiences 
as a minister among Friends, and his are the earliest in- 
stances of persecution and annoyance in Wales. 

John ap John had only one child, Phoebe, who married, 
8, 3mo. 1689, John Mellor, or Miller, of the manor of 
Whitehough in Staffordshire, at the home of Richard Da- 
vies, in Rhuddalt. John ap John, as above, died at White- 
hough, where he lived after the decease of his wife, Catha- 
rine, who died at Rhuddalt, 9, llmo., 1694, and was buried 
at Trevor. Mr. Mellor died 3, Im, 1718, aged 66 years and 
his wife Phoebe died 22, 8mo, 1734, at Leek, aged 69 years. I 
Both buried at Basford. They had six children. , 



[29] 



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WELSH LAND COMPANIES 

The patentees for 30,000 acres of the "Welsh Tract" lands 
granted by William Penn, to whom deeds were made out, 
may be considered self-constituted heads of seven "com- 
panies" for the division and sale of this land to the Welsh 
whom Penn and they hoped would be actual settlers on it, 
were, with the number of acres each "company" had for 
sale, as follows: 

Co. 1. John ap Thomas, of Llaithgwm, Merioneth- 
shire, 
Dr. Edward Jones, of Bala, Merionethshire. 5,000 

Co. 2. Charles Lloyd, of Dolobran, Montgomery- 
shire, 
Margaret Davies, widow, of Dolobran 5,000 

Co. 3. John Bevan, of Treverigg, Glamorganshire. 2,000 

Co. 4. John ap John, of Ruabon, Denbighshire, 

Dr. Thomas Wynne, of Caerwys, Flintshire. 5,000 

Co. 5. Lewis ap David, of Llandewy Velfry, Pem- 
brokeshire, 3,000 

Co. 6. Richard ap Thomas, of Whitford Game, 

Flintshire, 5,000 

Co. 7. Richard Davies, of Welshpool, Montgomery- 
shire 5,000 

It was one of Penn's earliest intentions to sell his land 
in blocks of 5,000 acres, he having adopted the Dutch plan 
of "patroon concessions." He certainly made his offer 
attractive to the Welsh by this "concession." It may not 
have been stated in so many words, but the purchaser of 
such block was a "patroon" after the Dutch idea, since 
those with whom he divided the land settled with him, in 
his grant, and looked on him as their leader, and it was 

[33] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

not necesary he should remove to, and reside with them 
on his purchase. 

It may be seen that nine of the party of Welsh gentle- 
men who interviewed Penn, in May, 1681, and engaged to 
take 30,000 acres of land in his province, became con- 
cerned in these "companies," and real estate agents. The 
balance of 10,000 acres conditionally engaged by them 
and others present, was disposed of subsequently by Penn 
himself, or his agents, in small lots to actual settlers, and 
to parties who bought for speculation only, and 10,000 
acres reserved in addition, also in the "Welsh Tract," were 
taken up in a few years by Welshmen, making their total 
purchase of 50,000 acres, the extent of this "Welsh Tract." 

Excepting for names and amount of land, the patents 
to the first purchasers from "William Penn, of Worming- 
hurst, in the county of Sussex, Esq.," were nearly all of 
even date, namely, "the Fifteenth Day of September, in 
the year of our Lord One thousand six hundred Eighty 
and one in the CCCIII yeare of the Reigne of King Charles 
the Second over England". 

But there was an important difference in the deeds to 
these "first purchasers," which turned out to be the cause 
of considerable trouble in after years, as we may see, and 
was particularly disappointing to the heads of "Companies" 
No. 1 and 4, and their grantees. From the deeds of 
"Thomas & Jones," and "John & Wynne" to their grantees, 
it appears that they and others made up by subscription the 
purchase money for the two blocks they took, and that they 
were only "trustees" in the matter of the purchase, and, 
like the other subscribers' purchase money, only interested 
to the amount contributed, whereas the heads of the other 
five "companies" bought on their own accounts, hoping to 
sell off what land they did not wish to retain. But Penn, 
and his representative in Pensylvania, considered all the 
heads of these companies to be "trustees," and treated 
them alike, and if they had not been Quakers there would 

[34] 



T^DVENTURERS FOR LAND 

have been much litigation over land claims. As it was, 
Penn's commissioners, and the Board of Property, had 
much difficulty adjusting them. 

Penn's deeds to the "trustees" cite the date and consid- 
eration, the location of the territory, etc., granted to him, 
by Royal Letters Patent, 4 March 1681, from which he 
conveyed to them the various amounts of their purchases, 
of course, without giving their locations, and the conditions 
and restrictions under which he made the conveyances. 
The consideration being £100 sterling for each tract of 
5,000 acres located in one lot, "if possible, in his province, 
and subject to quit-rent of one shilling for every hundred 
acres of the said five thousand acres att or upon the first 
day of March for ever." 

The deeds to the "companies," as well as those from 
them to those who bought of them, were long afterwards 
recorded in Philadelphia County, and were confirmed by 
Penn's land commissioners. At first, much to their aston- 
ishment and disappointment, half of the land called for in 
"Welsh Deeds" was laid out to the "first purchasers" in 
ihe townships of Merion, Radnor, and Haverford, and sub- 
sequently the balance was laid out in the townships of 
Goshen, New Town, or Uwchland in the Tract. 

For two years and a half this method obtained, and 
Penn had given no order to survey the 30,000 acre tract 
bought, so the Welsh could know exactly its bounds, and if 
they lay within their rights. Urged by them to do this, 
Penn gave finally the following warrant for survey, to 
Thomas Holmes, his surveyor general: — 

"Whereas divers considerable persons among ye Welsh 
Friends have requested me yt all ye Lands Purchased of 
me by theos of North Wales and South Wales, together 
with ye adjacent counties to ym as Herefordshire, Shorp- 
shire, and Cheshire, about fourty thousand acres, may be 
lay'd out contiguously as one Barony, alledging yt ye 
number allready eome and suddenly to come, are such as 

[35] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

will be capable of planting ye same much with in ye pro- 
portion allowed by ye custom of ye country, & so not lye 
in large useless vacancies. 

"And because I am inclined and determined to agree and 
favour ym wth any reasonable Conveniency and privil- 
edge: — I do hereby charge thee and strictly require thee 
to lay out ye sd tract of Land in as uniform a manner as 
conveniently may be, upon ye west side of Skoolkill river, 
running three miles upon ye same, and two miles backward, 
& then extend ye parallel with ye river six miles, and to run 
westwardly so far as this ye sd quantity of land be Com- 
pleately surveyed unto ym. 

"Given at Pennsbury, ye 13th 1 mo. 1684." 
Under instructions from the surveyor-general, dated 
4. 2mo. 1684, his deputy, David Powel, laid out the tract, 
"in method of townships lately appointed by the Governor, 
att five thousand acres for a township." But it was not 
until 25. 5mo. 1687, that the bounds of the Welsh Tract 
were defined, and publicly known. 

The next item found concerning the "Welsh Tract," 
three years later, is a minute of the Commissioners' meet- 
ing, held "in ye Council Room at Philad'a ye 25th of ye 
5 Mo. 1687". It mentions the "Tract of Land, about 40,000 
acres, w'ch was laid out by vertue of a warrant from the 
proprietary and Governor, bearing Date ye 13th day of the 
first month, 1684, for the Purchasers of North and South 
Wales and adjacent Counties of Herefordshire, Shorpshire, 
and Cheshire, * * * it is bounded: — 

Beginning at the Skoolkill [at the Falls], thence run- 
ning West [by] South West, on the City Liberties, 2256 
Perches [a little over seven miles, along Township, or City 
Line Road] to Darby Creek. 

Thence following up the several courses thereof [i.e. 
Darby Creek] to New Town, 988 Perches [a little over 
three miles], to a Corner post by Crumb Creek. 

[36] 



ADVENTURERS FOR LAND 

Thence down the several Courses thereof [Crum Creek], 
460 Perches, [not quite a mile and a half]. 

Thence West and by South, by a line of Trees, 2080 
Perches [six miles and a half]. 

Thence North [by] North West, by a line of Trees, 1920 
Perches [six miles]. 

Thence East, and by North, by a line of Trees, 3040 
Perches [nine and a half miles]. 

Thence East and by South 1120 Perches [three and a 
half miles]. 

Thence South [and by] South East 256 Perches [about 
a mile and a quarter]. 

Thence East [and by] North East 640 Perches [not 
quite a mile and a half]. 

Thence South [and by] South East 1204 Perches [a frac- 
tion over three and a half miles]. 

Thence East [and by] North East 668 Perches [a little 
over two miles] to the Skoolkill. 

Thence down the several courses thereof [Schuylkill 
river] to the Place of beginning." 

This tract covered 62i/2 square miles. 

So it was not till six years after the Welsh gentlemen 
engaged to take 40,000 acres, that the tract was surveyed 
for them. There is a plot of the tract in the Surveyor 
General's office, at Harrisburg, but it does not agree with 
the bounds given above. The survey included the town- 
ships of Lower Merion, a portion of Upper Merion, Haver- 
ford, Radnor, TredyfFrin, Whiteland, Willistown, East 
Town, Goshen, and part of West Town. 

But in all these years, the Welsh were not idle, nor was 
Penn. All interested were "booming" the land. The 
Welsh trustees had disposed of their trusts, and Penn had 
sold a million acres. 

This was not the only "Welsh Tract" in Pensylvania. 
Subsequently lands were sold to other Welshmen, and we 

[37] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

had "Welsh Tracts" in Chester Co., and at Gwynedd, or 
'North Wales," and then in New Castle Co. (Delaware), 
The Carolinas also had "Welsh Tracts," but with these 
Penn was not concerned. 

The material side of immigration was made as attractive 
as possible by nicely gotten up pamphlets issued by Penn, 
or his agents, setting forth, in addition to his advertis- 
ing, in glowing terms, the general recommendations of his 
Province and land, the social advantages gained by removal 
there, and the approximate outside cost of it; in detail, 
just how to conduct a farm in the new country and make 
it pay. One of his advertising papers, addressed "to such 
persons as are inclined * * * to the Province of Pensyl- 
vania,"* tells attractively what expense a man with £100 
cash would be under if he bought from him 500 acres, and 
transported himself, wife, a child, and two men servants 
to his purchase. It being understood that "500 acres of 
uncleared land is equivolent to 50 acres of cleared English, 
or Welsh land." 

By taking along to Pensylvania certain small articles, 
cloth, clothes, harness, implements, etc., and selling them 
there the land would be paid for by the 50% profit derived. 
The transportation of the party would cost not more than 
£38.2.6, with new clothes, "Shurtes, Hatts, Shooes, Stokins, 
and Drawyers," a ton of things to sell, and "four gallons 
of Brandy, and 24 pounds of Suger for the Voyage." Ar- 
riving at the purchase in early summer, encamping and 
clearing fifteen acres for plowing, cutting out best timber 
for house, according to directions, planting, erecting the 
log-cabin, and getting in the crops, brings the experience 
of this party up to winter, when the prospect is not pleas- 
ant, as they have only green wood to bum. The barn is 
built, and in the spring stock is bought, and first crop sold. 



*Pa. Mag., IV., p. 331. 

[38] 



ADVENTURERS FOR LAND 

Now, the settler takes "account of stock." He finds he 
has paid out from his £100, in one year: — 

"To Passage and Cloaths £38.02.06 

"To House and Bain 15.10.00 

"To living expenses one year 17.17.06 

"To Stock 24.10.00 

£96.00.00 

His receipts and assets, "per Contr. Creditor," he finds 
as follows : — 

Crop valued at £59.10.00 

House and barn, value, 30.00.00 

Stock, cost, 24.10.00 

Land, with 15 ac. improved, 26.05.00 

Remaining cash 4.00.00 

Total assets £144.05.00 

It may thus be seen the immigrant has had a good first 
year, "on paper." The receipts from crops paid for the 
fifteen-acre field (the profit of goods brought over having 
paid for the tract), and for the house and barn. Is it any 
wonder that the humble Welsh willingly removed. 

The directions for building the log house are particular 
as to trees, how to get them ready, etc. It should be "thirty 
foot long and eighteen foot broad," "with a partition neer 
the middle, and an other to divide one end of the House into 
two small Rooms," and a loft over all, the floor of which 
to be of "clapbord," but "the lower flour is the Ground." 
"This may seem a mean way of Building, but 'tis sufficient 
and safest for ordinary beginners." "An ordinary House, 
and a good Stock, is the Planters Wisdom." 

Only three years after immigrants began coming into 
Pensylvania, there were "evil reports" given out in Eng- 
land "by many Enemies to this new Country," because it 
promised to be a growing colony of non-conformists, and 
because others had other colony schemes they were trying 

[39] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

to float. Then there were those who could not believe 
Penn's astonishing statements in his advertisements of his 
land, and these were as much to be dreaded as the 
"Enemies." 

In order to head-off these aspersions against Pensyl- 
vania, Governor Penn asked some of the leading men in the 
Province to give him their opinions of the country from 
personal observation and experience. One, Dr. Nicholas 
More, wrote him, "Green Spring, 13 Sep. 1686," for publi- 
cation it may be imagined, a long, cheerful account* re- 
citing the "evil reports," "as if we were ready to Famish, 
and that the Land is so barren, the Climet so hot, that 
English Grain, Roots, and Herbs do not once come to 
Maturity, and what grows, to be little worth." This he 
pronounced bosh. And he gave prices current here for a 
hundred products and articles, and all possible profits on 
them. 

But what would most appeal to farmers, Welsh or Eng- 
lish, was what he wrote of grain crops. He said, "I have 
had seventy Ears of Rye upon one single Root, proceeding 
from one single Com ; 45 of Wheat ; 80 of Oats ; 10, 12, and 
14 of Barley out of one Corn ; I took the Curiosity to tell 
one of the twelve Ears from one Grain, and there was in it 
45 Grains on that Ear; above 3,000 of Oats from one 
single Corn." ["Quaker Oats"?], etc. "But it would seem 
a Romance rather than a Truth, if I should speak what I 
have seen in these things." 

This must have convinced the Welsh farmers. 

In referring thus to Penn's advertising his lands, I do 
not lose sight of the fact that his Pensylvania scheme 
was "in the course of his pious life," — "continually and 
various ways were employed in promoting the happi- 
ness of mankind, both in their religious and civil capacity," 
and attribute any sordid aspects to it. The advertisements 



*Pa. Mag., IV., p. 447. 

[40] 



ADVENTURERS FOR LAND 

are only mentioned to show the method pursued in trying 
to sell, and to also show that he knew how to "sell without 
samples," and that he was a pioneer in the real estate busi- 
ness, if not in the "mail-order business," and that as an 
all-round business man he was "far and away ahead of 
his time," and would have been the first great "captain 
of industries" if he had had faithful lieutenants, or, if, in a 
word, his whole endeavor had not been a chimera. 

However, his real estate venture throughout was 
"clean." There is no evidence of any scandals connected 
with it. He may have had paid agents to sell his land for 
him, and he may have paid commissions on sales, and the 
"trustees" may have sold some lands at advance prices, 
and some may have bought to speculate, but what of it? 
Such methods then were as proper as they are to-day. 

The "company," some of whose members were the first 
to come over, and have land laid out in the Welsh Tracts, 
was that of John ap Thomas and Dr. Edward Jones. This 
was in August, 1682, a year after Penn's first ship-load of 
colonists had arrived here, and two months before he him- 
self came on ,tiis first visit to America. There has been 
much told of these very first arrivals in three ships, so it is 
only necessary here to repeat that the first boat-load arrived 
111 the Delaware in August, 1681, and the third in the follow- 
ing December, and that the immigrants landed at Upland 
(now Chester) , and remained there, supposing it to be the 
site of the city Penn had said he was going to lay out, till 
after the first surveyor came over, in June, 1682, up to 
which time twenty-three other immigrant ships had 
arrived. 

The surveyor, Thomas Holme, after looking around, 
probably told some one that he was going to recommend 
that the city be located further up the river, at the Swede's 
farm, called Wicaco, for in July there was a great scramble 
of immigrants to that locality. Here Dr. Jones found them 
when he arrived in August, 1682. 

[41] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

When Penn came in the following October, 1682, he 
found his first English colonists, like squatters, living in 
huts and "caves," on the Delaware, where they supposed 
the city would be laid out, and, as first arrivals, they would 
have the choice lots. This may, or may not have influenced 
him to order his city laid out here, but it was months before 
it was plotted. The site of the new city seems to have been 
known or well guessed at two months before Penn came, 
as Dr. Jones mentions "the town of Philadelphia" in his 
letter, hereafter given, written 13, 6mo. 1682. For this 
reason it has been believed that the Doctor selected or 
suggested the site of the city, and possibly named it, as 
Penn tells it was named "before it was born." 

Now, that we have reviewed the inception, founding, 
and establishing of the "Welsh Tract," on and beyond the 
Schuylkill, we proceed to consider its first and pioneer 
settlers, "the company of Thomas and Jones" — the builders 
of the Merion Meeting House. 



[42] 



THOMAS & JONES' LAND PATENT 

Beginning with the Thomas & Jones "Company," and 
land, which was "ye first within ye tract of land in the 
Province" to be laid out, we will consider the companies in 
succession. 

There are extant documents like confirmatory deeds, each 
having the title, "An Indenture where severall are con- 
cerned," and bearing date of March 18th, others "The first 
day of Aprill, in the four and thirtieth year of our sovereign 
Charles, Second," [1682]. They recite the conveyance of the 
5,000 acres of land by William Penn to John ap Thomas and 
Edward Jones, and that "there have been two severall In- 
dentures, ye one of bargain and sale for one year, bearing 
date ye 16th day of September in the three and thirtieth year 
of his majesty's reign [1681]*, the other bearing date ye 
17th day of the same month and year," both made between 
William Penn and John ap Thomas and Edward Jones. 
And, "that for and in consideration of the sum of One Hun- 
dred pounds of good and lavsrfull money of England to him 
in hand paid by Jno. T. & Edw. Jones, he did grant [to 
them] the full portion of 5,000 acres of land, * * * ye first 
within ye tract of land in the Province," "bearing date ye 
11th day of July then last past, paying one shilling for every 
one hundred acres of ye said 5,000 upon the first day of 
March forever." 

This deed then recites that "others than John ap Thomas 
and Edward Jones have contributed towards this £100 



*Charles the Second began his first regrnal year in 1660, but as it 
was his restoration, his first regnal year was called in documents 
the 12th year of his reig^i, making his reign date from 30 Jan. 1648-9, 
the beginning of the Commonwealth. Therefore, in the above deed, 
the S3 Charles II. was 1681. 

[45] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

of purchase money," and that "the said John and Edward 
are as Trustees," they being personally responsible for the 
amounts to which the others and themselves have individu- 
ally subscribed. That "for £25 which John ap Thomas 
has subscribed, he shall have 1250 acres [one-fourth in- 
terest], and Edward Jones in like proportion, and that the 
residue of the land be of equal goodness." 

These documents are confirmation that 16 September 
1681 was the date of the original grant to John ap Thomas 
and Dr. Edward Jones, or the "Thomas & Jones Co.," which 
for convenience, and because its land was the first laid out, 
and its subscribers the first to arrive here, and founded the 
Merion Meeting, we will call "Company No. 1." 

Company No. 1. There were seventeen Welsh Friends, 
one a woman, who subscribed to the £100 purchase money 
for the 5,000 acres in the Welsh Tract, which John ap 
John and Dr. Edward Jones engaged for them. The names 
of these subscribers and purchasers are preserved in a 
memorandum written by John ap Thomas, found among his 
papers, entitled: — 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 



"An account of wt sum of money every ffriend in Penllyn 
hath Layd out to buy land in Pensylvania & wt quantity of 
Acres of Land each is to have and wt sum of Quit Rents 
falls upon every one." 

Pounds. Acres. Quit Rent. 

John Tho 25 Os Od 1250 12s 6d 

Hugh Robt 12 10 625 6 3 

Edd Jones 6 5 312 1/2 3 11/2 

Robt Davis 6 5 312 1/2 3 11/2 

Evan Rees 6 5 312 1/2 3 11/2 

John Edd 6 5 312 1/2 3 1 1/2 

Edd Owen 6 5 312 1/2 3 11/2 

Will Edd 3 2 6 156 1/4 16 1/3 

-^Edd Rees 3 2 6 156 1/4 16 1/3 

Will Jones 3 2 6 156 1/4 161/3 

Tho Rich 3 2 6 156 1/4 1 6 1/3 

Rees John W 3 2 6 156 1/4 1 6 1/3 

Tho lloyd 3 2 6 156 1/4 16 1/3 

Cadd Morgan .... 3 2 6 156 1/4 161/3 

John Watkin 3 2 6 156 1/4 16 1/3 

Hugh John 3 2 6 156 1/4 16 1/3 

Gainor Robt 3 2 6 156 1/4 16 1/3 



£100 



5000 



£2 10 



From this MSS. and from the deeds for this land to the 
subscribers, we have the names, locations of their resi- 
dences, their stations in life, and number of acres bought 
by each of the subscribers to the fund of £100. 

"John Tho". "John ap Thomas, of Llaithgwm, gentle- 
man," took 1250 acres, paying £25. 

"Edd Jones". "Edward Jones, chyrurgion, of Bala," the 
partner in the trusteeship, took for himself only 3121/2 acres, 
paying £6.5.0. 

"Hugh Robt". Hugh Roberts, of Kiltalgarth, gentle- 
man," purchased 625 acres, paying £ 12.10s. 



[47] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

The following each bought 312l^ acres, each paying 
£6. 5s.: 

"Robt David". "Robert ap David, of Gwern Evel Ismy- 
nydd, yeoman." 

"Evan Rees". "Evan ap Rees, of Penmaen, grocer." 

"John Edd." "John ap Edwards, of Nant Lleidiog, yeo- 
man." 

"Edd Owen". "Edward ap Owen, 'late of Doleyserre,' 
gentleman." 

The following each bought I5614 acres, each paying 
£3. 2s. 6d.: 

"Will Edd." "William ap Edward, of Ucheldre, or Uenel- 
dri, yeoman." 

"Edd Rees". "Edward ap Rees, of Kiltalgarth, gentle- 
man." 

"Gainor Robt". "Gainor Roberts, of Kiltalgarth, spin- 
ster." 

"Will Jones". "William ap John alias Jones, of Bettws, 
yeoman." 

"Tho Rich". "Thomas ap Richard alias Prichard, of 
Nant Lleidiog, yeoman." 

"Hugh John". "Hugh ap John alias Jones, of Nant 
Lleidiog, yeoman." 

"Rees John W". "Rees ap John ap William, alias Rees 
Jones, of Llanglynin, yeoman." 

"Tho lloyd." "Thomas Lloyd, of Llangower, yeoman." 

"Cadd Morgan". "Cadwalader Morgan, of Gwernevel, 
yeoman." 

"John Watkin". "John Watkins, of Gwernevel, 'bath- 
ilor'." 

As the homes of all of these subscribers were in the 
hundred of Penllyn, in Merionethshire, it was natural that 
the tovsTiship in Pensylvania, where their land lay, should 
be given the name Merion by the surveyor-general, and sub- 

[48] 



COMPANY, NUMBER ONE 

sequently so many settlements in it should be called after 
Merionethshire places.* 

Although the deeds of lease and release from Penn to 
Thomas & Jones for over 5,000 acres, were executed 16 and 
17 September 1681, about four months after they had the in- 
terview with Penn in London, the transfers, by deeds, from 
them, of their proportions, to the several subscribers were 
not made till the following Spring, as these latter deeds of 
conveyance (copied into Books C.I and C.II in office of the 
Recorder of Deeds, Philadelphia), all bear dates between 
28 February and 1 April, 1682, and they M'ere not recorded 
till 22 3mo. 1684, but the confirmative patents were not 
granted till in 1702-1703. These deeds from Thomas & 
Jones have the same witnesses who were some of the others 
of these grantees, excepting, of course, the parties to the 
deed, and are all drawn very particularly as to facts, con- 
taining the "tripping clause," to wit: "Whereas besides the 
said John Thomas and Edward Jones, chirurgeon, others 
have contributed some part and proportion of the said sum 
of £100 for and towards the purchase of the premises, and 
whereas, though the said John Thomas and Edward Jones 



*Some of these Welsh Friends of Merionethshire, who were signers 
of a marriage certificate, in Imo. 1678-9, at the Penllyn Monthly 
Meeting, it will be seen came over and settled in the Welsh Tract. 

Owen Humphrey. Cadwalader Thomas. 

John Humphrey. John Thomas. 

Richard Humphrey. Elizabeth Thomas. 

Humphrey Oweti. Rowland Ellis. 

Rowland Owen. Hugh Roberts. 

John Owen. Edward Vaughan. 

Anne Owen. -Ellis Rees. ' 

Elizabeth Owen (bis). Ellin Rees. 

Evan John. Gwen Rees. 

Rees John. John Howell. 

Gainor John. Daniel Samuel. 

Humphrey Reynolds. Joseph Samuel. 

Rees Evan. Lydia Samuel. : '- 

John William. Rebecca Samuel. ; 

[49] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

were intrusted to take the conveyances of all the said prem- 
ises, yet they only intended to have their separate shares* 
and proportions of the said 5,000 acres, according to the 
said sum they have laid out as part of the said £100 as 
only Trustees as to the rest of the said 5,000 acres, and for 
that it was also agreed that no benefit or survivorship 
should be taken between them." Mr. Thomas had paid in 
only £25, as mentioned, and Dr. Jones £6.5.0. This iden- 
tifying Messrs. Thomas and Jones as only "trustees," was 
a serious matter to them, as will appear. 

This distribution cleaned up these 5,000 acres, and reim- 
bursed the trustees, Messrs. Thomas and Jones, for the 
£100 they had advanced to pay Mr. Penn. 

Several of these purchasers did not remove to Pensyl- 
vania, but their land was laid out and surveyed along with 
the rest, and subsequently they sold out to others, who did 
remove and settle on it, or to their fellow contributors, as 
will appear later. 

The earliest mention found, outside of the "trustee's 
deeds," which did not, however, give the locations of the 
lands, which was to be determined "as soon as the 5,000 
acres is laid out," as the deeds state, is in a letter of Dr. 
Edward Jones, dated "Skoolkill River, ye 26th of ye 6mo. 
1682," wherein he mentions the 2,500 acres on the Schuyl- 
kill as "ye Country lots." From the wording of the Doctor's 
statements, in this letter, given elsewhere, it would seem he 
thought his company's land, or at least the half of it, 2,500 
acres, should have been laid out in "ye town lot," (in Phila- 
delphia) "called now Wicoco." The earliest location of the 
land on a map was on that of Pensylvania, made by the 
surveyor-general of the Province, Thomas Holme, which he 
began to compile after Penn's first departure from Amer- 
ica. But it is here only in outline, and indicates the land of 
"Edward Jones and Company 17 Families." Next, there is 
the unsatisfactory original draft of the lands included in 
this Welsh Tract, preserved at Harrisburg, which desig- 

[50] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

nates the land of "Edward Jones and Company, containing 
2,500 acres, being 17 devisions." and then Powell's rough 
draft of the 2,500 acres, on the "city liberties's" line, and 
the Schuylkill river. Although a block of 5,000 was bought, 
it was told at the time to Dr. Jones, that because of the 
great demand for land in the Schuylkill neighborhood, by 
Penn's order only half of this amount could be laid out 
there. This, as will appear, was a cause of much dissatis- 
faction, as only part of purchase would be near the city, 
and the balance, away off in the wilds of Goshen, where the 
city of West Chester has grown up. 

It is written on this extant draft or plot, preserved at 
Harrisburg, made by a deputy surveyor, David Powell, of 
the half of the total purchase made by Thomas & Jones, 
which lay on the west side of the Schuylkill, from above the 
Falls and up the river, that the first, or rough survey, was 
made by Charles Ashcom, on warrant from Mr. Powell, 
dated 24, 6mo. 1682, and that another rough survey was 
made on warrant "from ye Gov'r, date 22d 1 mo. 83." 

From the Thomas & Jones deeds to each other, and from 
them jointly to the other parties to this purchase, comes the 
knowledge that the lots, of whatsoever size, when conveyed, 
were numbered, and only the number of a deed and the 
amount of acres going with it were given to the first sur- 
veyor, who laid them out accordingly, so the various gran- 
tees in this transaction had no part in selecting their land, 
and it was a lottery in what position, as to the others in 
this "company," the land would be laid out. The only stip- 
ulation on this point in the deeds was, it shall be "land of 
equal goodness with the residue, or as shall fall out by lot." 
This was very likely not a satisfactory arrangement, and 
may account for the many exchanges and sales between 
these lot holders soon after coming into possession, and get- 
ting acquainted with the quality and lay of the land. 

Mr. Powell's mem. on the final and extant plot, dated 
'"20th of ye 3d mo, 84," says, "According to A War't from 

[51] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Capt Thomas Holmes, Survey'r Genrall, Bearing dat the 
24th of ye 1st mo. 84, directed unto me for the Subdividing 
of 2,500 Acres of Land for Edward Joans & Company upon 
the west sid of Skoolkool above fals Contageous unto the 
City Liberty. I therefor Laid out and Subdivided the said 
quantity of Land, 25th of 1st mo. at the befor mentioned 
place, and unto every man by proportion as by these sevrall 
figure doth now at large Apeer with their bounds and 
courses enterd in ye sd figur by a skale of 80 perch in an 
inch. Da Powell." 

In a general way, these 2,500 acres were bounded at first 
as follows : North, "Vakant Land," East "Skoolkool" river, 
South, "The Citty Libarty," and West, two tracts of Charles 
Lloyd and Thomas Lloyd, or Company No. 2. 

This first draft of the sub-divisions of the "Thomas & 
Jones" land is here reproduced. The dimensions of the 17 
lots may be given correctly, but the map certainly is not 
drawn to "skale of 80 perch in an inch." It has been worked 
out that "the areas of the several lots aggregate 2,444% 
acres," which was a fairly good survey of 2,500 acres at 
that time, though the area by modern sui-vey would amount 
to about 3,200 acres. The charges for making the first sur- 
vey for Dr. Jones was over £25, but he hoped "better orders 
will be taken shortly about" the bill, and he would not have 
to pay so much. But from his own account, he was lucky 
in getting the work done so soon after he arrived, as there 
were hundreds demanding surveys. To correct this first 
hurried survey of Mr. Ashcom, in 1682, the draft of Mr. 
Powell was made in 1684, naming the owner in 1682. 

In all of Penn's deeds to the first Welsh companies and to 
other settlers, and in their deeds to their grantees, there is 
a safe-guarding clause that protection is guaranteed against 
Indian claims to the lands conveyed. This was because Penn 
had not yet purchased the land from the Indians as he pro- 
posed doing. 

[52] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

After his arrival here, in October, 1682, he began at once 
to enter upon treaties with the Indian chiefs for the pur- 
chase of their domains, taking for granted they were the 
proper ones to pass the titles, so as to extinguish their 
rights, and make good the deeds he had issued. The boun- 
daries of the tracts the Indians resigned were, of course, 
vague, as were the original surveys made of the lands for 
Penn's grantees, since the stations were natural objects. 
As to the land bought by Thomas & Jones, and then cccupied 
by it, and some of the other tracts beyond the Schuylkill : 

1683, June 25, William Penn bought from Chief Wing- 
bone, whose "autograph" is extant, all his rights and claims 
to the land lying on the west side of the Schuylkill, begin- 
ning at the Lower Falls, and "up the river," and "back- 
ward." 

1683, July 16, William Penn brought from the chiefs 
named Secane and Idquoquehan, all the land lying between 
the Schuylkill (at Manayunk) and Chester Creek, and as 
far up the Schuylkill as Conshohocken Hill. 

On 22 December, 1701, the minutes of the Commis- 
sioners of Property record that grantees of John ap Thomas 
and Dr. Jones tract were the first of the Welsh to have 
their deeds confirmed to them, when there was a possibility 
of losing their lands, of which elsewhere. 

Those who appeared, and to whom warrants of resurvey 
were issued at this time, 1701-2-3, their lands being made 
up partly of the original purchases, and what was acquired 
subsequently : — 

"To Hugh Roberts for 5493^ acres in Goshen, 482 thereof 
[bought] of Jno. ap Jno's. 

"To Robert Roberts and Owen Roberts 200 acres each, in 
Meirion. 

"To Edward Reese 2051/4 acres, in Meirion. 

"To Edward Jones' Survey on 200 acres in Goshen, and 
a Resurvey on 151 >^ in Meirion, and 153 in Goshen. 

[53] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"To Edward Jones, Jun'r, 3O614 acres, half in Meirion„ 
% in Goshen. 

"Robert David, 2741/4 acres in Meirion, and 2341/0 in 
Goshen. 

"Richard Walter 100 acres in Meirion. 

"Richard Rees als Jones, I371/2 in Meirion, and 75 in 
Goshen. 

"To Cadwallader Morgan 202 acres and 1/2 in Meirion. 

"To John Roberts, malter, 306 acres and I/2, % thereof 
in Goshen, 14 in MIeirion. 

"To Hugh Jones 768 and 14 acres in Meirion. 

"To Griffith John 194 acres. 

"To Rob't William 7614 acres in Goshen. 

"To Ellis David 151 acres and 1/0. 

"To Thomas Jones, Robert Jones and Cadwallader Jones,., 
1225 acres, 1/0 thereof in Meirion, and 1/2 in (Joshen, left 
them by their father, John Thomas, the original Purchaser^ 

"To John Roberts, Cordwainer, of Goshen, 7814 acres- 
in Goshen." 

Only seven of these were original grantees in the tract. 

From the Commissioners' "Minutes of ye Welsh Pur- 
chasers," we find fui'ther as to the distribution of the land 
of the original contributors, and who got some of this 
tract : — 

Hugh Roberts had by deed, dated 28 February, 1681-2, 
from Thomas & Jones, 625 acres, laid out, on warrant of 
1683, half in Merion and half in Goshen township. He also- 
by deed, 17.6.1694, bought of William Edward 7614 acres, 
and by deed, 1 April, 1682, from John Watkin, 156 acres. 
He had in all 8421/2 acres net. He gave 200 acres out of 
the 625 acres to his son Robert Roberts on his second 
marriage, in 1689, and 200 acres out of the balance of the 
625 acres and what he bought of Edwards, to his son Owen 
Roberts on his marriage in 1696. He also sold 100 to 
Edward Griffith, and 100 to Robert William, and 100 to 
Thomas Griffith. He further bought 156 acres "of J. Walk " 

[54] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

[John Walker?], and sold 74 acres to Abel Thomas. Re- 
ported, that he had sold 7761/2 acres, and had only 673^ 
acres remaining. The land he sold to Messrs. Edward and 
Thomas Griffith, and Robert William, lay in Merion town- 
ship, and also all but 67% in same place. 

William Edward, who bought ISSy^ acres, through 
Thomas & Jones, with a questionable right to certain "lib- 
erty land," sold 76 acres, as above, and 76 acres in Goshen 
township, to Robert William. 

Edward Rees had deed, 1.2mo. 1682, from Thomas & 
Jones, for 156yo acres, plus, as supposed, some "liberty 
land." He sold 76 acres in Goshen township to Ellis David. 
Of the balance, 78i4 acres and 125 acres he bought from 
Thomas Lloyd, being out of the purchase of Charles Lloyd 
and Margaret Davies, and two acres from Dr. Jones, all 
205V4 acres located in Merion township. 

Edward Jones, the doctor, as above, took for himself 
only 312% acres, which came out only 3O614 acres on 
survey. He sold two acres as above and had 151i/4 acres 
left in Merion, and 153 acres in Goshen tovniship. Later, 
he bought 200 acres in Goshen from Richard Thomas. 

Edward Owen, by deed 1 April, 1682, bought through 
Thomas & Jones, 312% acres. By deed, 1.1.1694-5, he sold 
150 acres in Merion to Robert David, all he had there. The 
balance of his land lay in Goshen township. 

John ap Edward, by deed 18.1.1681-2, from Thomas & 
Jones had 312% acres; half was located in Merion, and 
rest in Goshen township. His son, Edward Jones, inherited 
all in 1686-7. 

Robert David, by deed 18.1.1681, from Thomas & Jones, 
received 3121/2 acres, located half in Merion, half in Goshen. 
He sold, by deed l.lOmo. 1694, 25 acres of his Merion place 
to Richard Walter, and had remaining 281 acres, to which 
he added I5614 acres, bought, by deed 18.5.1683, of Evan 
Rees. He also had 150 acres from Griffith Owen. After 
deductions and allowances and additions and sales, he had 

[55] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

274^2 acres in Merion, and 2341/2 acres in Goshen. Richard 
Walter bouglit as above from Robert David, 25 acres and 
75 acres. These parcels lay in Merion tov^^nship. 

Rees Jones, by deed 18.2.1682, bought through Thomas 
& Jones, 1561/4 acres in Merion. He sold 50 acres to Cad- 
walader Morgan, and by his w^ill bequeathed his land in 
Goshen to his sons John and Evan, and 100 acres to his 
son, Richard Rees Jones, vi^ho bought from "John Roberts, 
cordwainer," 371/2 acres (part of the Thomas & Charles 
Lloyd land), which land "the said Thomas [Lloyd] be- 
queathed by will to the said Jno Roberts, his nephew." So 
Richard Rees Jones held I371/2 acres in Merion township. 
He also held 75 acres in Goshen to\vnship, granted to him 
by his Uncle, Evan John William, by deed, which lot was 
a portion of the Richard David purchase. 

Thomas Prichard bought through Thomas & Jones, I5614 
acres. By his deed of 16 July, 1684, he conveyed the same 
to Rees Jones, who then had 306i/> acres. 

Cadwalader Morgan bought, by deed, 1.2mo. 1682, from 
Thomas & Jones, 1561/4 acres. He sold 76% acres in Goshen 
to "John Roberts, malter," and retained balance in Merion 
township. He increased his Merion holdings with 50 acres 
bought of Rees Jones, and 76i/2 acres in Merion, which he 
had by deed 18.4.1684, from John William, so had 2021/2 
acres in Merion township. 

Gainor Roberts, spinster, bought by deed, 1.2.1682, from 
Thomas & Jones, 156 acres. One-half lay in Merion, and 
"John Roberts, the malter, held balance, in Goshen town- 
ship. John Roberts, malter, had 75 acres from Gainor 
Roberts, 75 acres from Cadw. Morgan, by deed of 7.7.1687, 
and on this date he bought 75 acres from Hugh Jones. So 
he held 306i^ acres, one-fourth in Merion, balance in 
Goshen. 

"Thomas Lloyd (not the Presid't)," was a grantee, by 
deed of 1 April, 1682, from Thomas & Jones, for 156 acres. 
He bequeathed his land to his nephew, "John Roberts, 

[56] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

cordwainer," who sold of his inheritance 371/2 acres to 
Richard Jones, and 37% acres to Griffith John, of Merion. 
So he held 78V2 acres in Goshen township. 

Wilham Jones' son, John William, inherited of the 
Thomas and Jones tract, 156 i/i acres, three acres was his 
estimated share of the "liberty land," as in each case of 
this amount, "liberty land," when allowed always reduced 
township holding. He sold all his land; to Cadwalader 
Morgan 761/2, and balance to Edward Rees, who sold to 
Ellis David. 

John Watkins received by deed, 1 April, 1682, from 
Thomas & Jones, 156l^ acres "less 3 acres of liberty land." 
He sold all to Hugh Roberts, by deed dated 23.4.1684. 

Hugh Jones received by deed, 18 March, 1681, from 
Thomas & Jones, 1561/4 acres. He sold John Roberts, 
malter, l&Y^ acres. He and his son held the rest, in Merion 
township. 

Evan Rees received by deed, 18 March, 1681-2, from 
Thomas & Jones, 3121% acres, "less 614 ac. of liberty land." 
By deeds dated 18.3.1683, he sold out to Robert David and 
Griffith John. The latter bought I5614 acres from Evan 
Rees, and 38 from "John Roberts, shoemaker," of Goshen 
tovsmship. 

But these conveyances are given more fully in the 
sketches that follow of these original grantees. These 
transfers of land are of much genealogical interest, for 
they give the names of newcomers, and approximate the 
time of arrival here. 

There is plenty of evidence in the Philadelphia county 
land records, as may be seen, that the early Welsh Friends 
made many changes in their holdings in the twenty years 
following their removal here. Some increased their acre- 
age, some decreased to strengthen the balance, some sold 
out entirely and settled elsewhere outside of Merion. The 
land transactions were freqently before the Board of Land 
Commissioners for adjustment and settlement. It found it 

[57] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVAmA 

necessary finally, for its own better understanding of the- 
situation in the Welsh "Towns" to learn as near as possible 
in whose names was the land Penn had granted them. In 
this matter, the Board, in its Minutes, under date of 22nd 
lObr 1701, recorded: 

"Order issued the Ist inst. for taking some Measures to 
regulate the Welsh Tract ; some of the Chiefs of that Nation 
in this Province having met and concerted the Methods to 
be taken in order to the Regulations, it was agreed : That, 
in as much as the Welsh Purchasers of the Propr'ry were 
by large Quantities of acres in one Pair, by Deeds granted 
to one or two Persons only, under which several other Pur- 
chasers had a Share, the Gen'l Deeds of one Purchase 
should be first brought in with an acc't of all other Persons 
who had a Share in such Purchase, also an account in whose 
possession the Respective Lands of every under Purchase 
now are." 

"As for the Merion land holders in 1701, "the Propr'ry 
Deeds to John ap Thomas and Edward Jones for 5,000 
acres was brought in with all such necessary acc'ts". 

From their statement we learn that about 1,884 acres 
of their patent was not located in Merion township, but 
in Goshen township, and that the following number of the 
original Welsh Friends and descendants only held land in 
Mterion township, the total of their holdings being about 
3,000 acres. Newcomers holding about 445 acres. 

The Merion holders and acreage being, about January,. 
1700, n. s.:— 

"Robert Roberts, 200. 

"Owen Roberts, 200. 

"Edward Rees, 20514. 

"Edward Jones, 15I14 and 353 in Goshen township. 

"Edward Jones, Jr., 158% and 158% in Goshen township. 

"Robert David, 27414 and 234yo in Goshen township. 

[58] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

"Richard Rees Jones, 137i/4 and 75 in Goshen township. 

"Cadwalader Morgan, 2021/2. 

"John Roberts (Pencoid), 76i/o and 230 in Goshen town- 
ship. 

"Hugh Jones, 76814. 

"Thomas Jones, Robert Jones, Cadwallader Jones, 6I214 
(left to them by their father, John ap Thomas) ; and the 
same amount in Goshen." 

Other land owners in Merion township, at this time, were 
Richard Walter, 100 acres; Griffith John, 194 acres, and 
Ellis David, I5I14 acres, and in Goshen township, Hugh 
Roberts, 67 acres; Robert William, 76I/4 acres, and John 
Roberts, the shoemaker, 781/4 acres, who sold inherited 
land in Merion to "John Roberts, Gent." 



[59] 




^x 1 



! ^^; / 



tS 




\ 



FAMILIES AND LAND 
OF FIRST ARRIVALS 



MERION ADVENTURERS 

The following information concerning the aforesaid 
Welsh Friends, the "first purchasers," "ye first within ye 
tract of land in the Province" to have their land beyond 
the Schuylkill laid out, the first settlers in the Welsh Tract, 
and in Merion township, the founders of the Merion Meet- 
ing, has fortunately been preserved, and gathered together 
from many sources, more or less reliable. 

The sketches of these founders are not only of biographi- 
cal and genealogical interest, for they show the gradual and 
sure development of Merion, and of the Welsh Tract, now 
the "garden spot" of Pensylvania, if not of America, and 
incidentally the part taken by them in laying the foundation 
of the Commonwealth. 

These first four sketches are of the four Welshmen and 
Friends, and their families, who were the first to remove 
here from Wales, and arrived at Upland (Chester), on the 
Delaware, 13 August, 1682, namely. Dr. Edward Jones, 
William ap Edward, Edward ap Rees, and Robert ap 
David. 

Dr. Edward Jones. He was described as "chyrurgion," 
and removed from Bala, in Merionethshire, and was the 
founder of "Merion in the Welsh Tract." Nothing is pre- 
served of his ancestry, or antecedents. He filed with the 
Merion Preparative Meeting, or the Haverford Monthly 
Meeting, on 8. lOmo. 1704, according to its minutes, an ac- 
count of himself and wife, and of their life before coming 
over, as all other members did, but such accounts have dis- 
appeared from the Friends' archives. His fame was as the 
one who selected the land to be settled upon by himself and 
his confreres, and as the founder of the most important 
settlement in "New Merion." 

[63] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

As told already, he was one of the Welsh gentlemen who 
visited William Penn in London, in M!ay, 1681, about buy- 
ing some of his land, and how he was one of the adventurers 
and trustees, with John ap Thomas, for 5,000 acres, taken 
up by "Edward Jones & Co.," located part in Merion, on 
the Schuylkill, and part in Goshen township, because Penn's 
agent here, according to instructions from Penn, of course, 
would not survey or lay out so large a tract in one place. 

Where Edward ap John, or Edward Jones, studied medi- 
cine has not been discovered, but it may be supposed he 
had medical skill as a barber-surgeon, and practiced his 
profession among Friends in and about Bala, from whence 
he came, and later in Merion and Philadelphia. 

He and his party, "40 souls," were the first of the Welsh 
Friends to remove to Penn's Province. The names of all 
who composed Dr. Jones's party cannot now be determined, 
and it is only positively known that on this trip of the ship 
Lyon there were as passengers Dr. Jones and hi3 wife, and 
two small children; William ap Edward, and his second 
wife, and two children by his first wife ; Edward ap Rees, 
and his wife, and three children, and Robert ap David, 
and his wife, and one child, and that they were the "first 
class passengers." 

These four men were the only ones of the seventeen 
"shareholders," purchasers of the land Thomas & Jones 
engaged, who made the first settlement in Merion. This 
accounts for sixteen souls, and the others of the forty were 
farm-hands and servants. 

Dr. Jones, and his party of first Merion settlers, sailed 
from Liverpool, in the latter part of May, 1682, in the ship 
Lyon, Captain John Compton, master, and arrived at Up- 
land, now Chester, in the Delaware, 13. 6mo. (August), 
1682, two months before William Penn's first arrival. 

Among the papers of his "partner," John ap Thomas, 
brought to America by his widow, is preserved a letter 
written by Dr. Jones to him, whom he had left very ill at 

[64] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

home, thirteen days after reaching his destination. Some 
extracts from this interesting letter have been give above, 
but as it was an account of the experience of this first party^ 
as well as the Doctor's earliest opinion of his new home, his 
letter is given in full. It was written apparently after the 
men of the party had gone out to inspect the tract assigned 
to them on the west side of the Schuylkill, at and above the 
Falls, where subsequently they took their seats close to- 
gether, and camped with their families, till their comfort- 
able log houses were built, for it was mid-summer, and 
therefore no great hardship at first. 

An account of another family tells that these first comers 
"dug caves, walled them, and dwelt therein a considerable 
time, where they suffered many hardships, in the beginning, 
— the next season being wet and raining about their barley 
harvest [time]." 

It is unfortunate that the Doctor's first letter he refers 
to has not been preserved, or did not reach John Thomas. 

This second letter is addressed in this quaint manner : — 

"These ffor his much esteemed friend John ap Thomas 
of Llaithg"wm neer Bala in Merionethshire, North Wales, 
to be left with Job Boulton att the Boult and tun in Lumber 
Street London, and from thence to William Sky Butcher 
in Oswestrie, to be sent as above directed and via London — 
with Speed." 

"My endeared fr'd & brother, my heart dearly salutes 
thee, in a measure of ye everlasting truth, dear fr'd, hoping 
that these few lines may find thee in health, or no worster 
yn I left thee. 

"This shall let thee know that we have been aboard 
eleaven weeks before we made the land, (it was not for 
want of art, but contrary winds,) and one we were in 
coming to Upland. 

"Ye -town [the future Philadelphia] is to buylded 15 or 
16 miles up ye River. 

[66] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"And, in all this time, we wanted neither nieate, drink, 
or water, though several hogsheds of water run out. Our 
ordinary allowance of beer was 3 pints a day, for each 
whole head, and a quart of water; 3 biskedd a day, & some 
times more. We laid in about a half hundred [weight] 
of biskedd, one barrell of beere, one hogshede of water, — 
the quantity for each whole head, & 3 barrells of beefe for 
the whole number — 40 — and we had one [barrel of beef] 
to come ashoare. 

— "A great many could eat little or no beefe, though it was 
good. Butter and cheese eats well upon ye sea. Ye re- 
mainder of our cheese is little, or no worster; butter & 
cheese is at 6d per lb here, if not more. We have oatmeale 
to spare, but it is well yt we have it, for here is little or 
no corn till they begin to sow their corn, they have 
plenty of it. 

"The passengers are all living, save one child yt died of 
a surfeit. 

"Let no frds tell that they are either too old, or too young, 
[to come over] . for the Lord is sufficient to preserve both 
to the uttermost. 

"Here is an old man about 80 years of age; he is rather 
better yn when he sett out. Likewise here are young babes 
doing very well, considering the sea diet. 

"We had one tun of water, and one of drinke, to pay for 
at Upland ; but ye master [of the ship] would faine be pd 
for 13 or 14 hogsheds yt run out by ye way, but we did not. 
And about 3 quarters of Tunn of Coales we pd for. We 
laid in 3 Tun of Coales, and yields no profit here. 

"We are short of our expectation, by reason that ye 
town [future Philadelphia] is not to be builded at Upland ; 
neither would ye Master bring us any further [than Up- 
land], though it is navigable for ships of greater burthea 
than ours. 

[66] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

"Ye name of ye town lots [where they imagined, for 
some reason, the city would be laid out, as the site was not 
positively decided till after Penn's arrival] is called now 
Wicoco. Here [at the supposed town-site] is a Crowd of 
people striving for ye Country land, for ye town lot is not 
divided [that is the future Philadelphia was not yet laid 
out in lots, and was not until the following winter], & 
therefore we are forced to take up ye Country lots [first]. 

"We had much adoe to get a grant of it [that is, a war- 
rant to locate and survey the land, from Penn's deputy, 
young Markham, directed to the official surveyor, Thomas 
Holme, or Holmes, who had been here only about six weeks, 
and was filled with engagements]. But it Cost us 4 or 5 
days attendance [on the officials] besides some score of 
miles we travelled [forth and back to the Falls of Schuyl- 
kill and to the surveyor], before we brought it to pass 
[before the site was selected]. 

"I hope it [the Thomas & Jones lands, and its location] 
will please thee, and the rest yt are concerned, for it hath 
most rare timber. I have not seen the like in all these 
parts. There is water enough besides. 

"The end of each lot will be on a river, as large, or larger 
than the Dye, at Bala. It is called Skool Kill River. 

"I hope the Country land [the land the Doctor selected] 
will within this four days [be] surveyed out. [It seems 
that Ashcom, a Deputy Surveyor, made a rough survey of 
this land on 24 August, but probably had not returned when 
the Doctor wrote this on 26 August.] The rate for sur- 
veying 100 Acres, twenty shillings. But I hope betters 
orders [terms] will be taken [made] shortly about it" 
[the charge]. 

At this point there is a long paragraph in Welsh (the 
major part of the letter being English), and so written to 
make his remark secret and private, as the Doctor's letter 
was to be carried to England by the man he referred to, 
Ihe captain of the ship in which he came over : — 

[67] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"We liked him, the Captain, well enough when eating our 
own victuals; but beware of his provisions [a warning to 
Mr. Thomas, or any who might sail with him], because it 
was only bread and salt meat, with little beer, and foul 
water usually. But he made a great fuss over me and my 
wife, and over most of those who could talk with him [in 
English]. There is another Captain living in the same 
town [Liverpool], and passengers [some of Penn's first 
colonists] from Carmarthenshire came over with him on 
his provision, and they spoke well of him, but they paid 
him £4. 10. 00 ; early [for young] children, under 12 years 
of age, 52 shillings, and got plenty to eat, and good drink. 
The name of this good man is Captain Crossman. It is 
cheaper to furnish our own provisions than to pay £4. 10. 

"I think most of the things [dry goods, utensils, imple- 
ments, etc., brought over to sell to colonists] will not be 
sold until you come over, because so many things had pre- 
viously been brought here." 

All these suggestions may have been useful to others 
coming over. He suggested to bring for sale some white 
fustian, serges to make clothes, men's hats, saddles, bridles, 
shoes, etc. "Blue flannel is most called for here, but all 
colors are used," he wrote. "Don't bring much white flan- 
nel with you. Stuff dyed blue we like best." 

"Compel the master of the ship to come to the town of 
Philadelphia with your goods [it appears from this, and 
Penn said, the town received its name before its site was 
selected]. I had to pay to the other [another] party 30 
shillings for hauling the things up. and be sure to pay for 
carrying your luggage, and everything else that you start 
with, to the Captain." 

Then continuing in English : — 

"The people [about where the tract lay] generally are 
Swede, which are not very well acquainted [with our lan- 
guage]. 

[68] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

"We are amongst the English which sent [send] us both 
venison, and new milk, & the Indians brought [bring] ven- 
ison to our door for six pence ye quarter.* 

"And as for ye land, we look upon it a good & fat soil, 
generally producing twenty, thirty, & fourty fold. [This 
may mean that in the tract were old Indian fields of this 
quality, or reputation.] 

"There are stones [for houses] to be had enough at the 
falls of the Skool Kill, that is, where we are to settle, & 
water enough for mills. But thou must bring Mill-stones, 
and ye Irons that belong to it, for Smiths are dear [in 
charges here]. (This was a useless suggestion, as may be 
seen elsewhere.) 

"Iron is about two and thirty, or fourty shillings per 
hundred. Steel about Is. 6d. p. 1. 

"Ye best way is to make yr picken axes when you come 



*That is, they were then stopping "in town," and had not yet moved 
out to "ye country lots," wth the squatters on the site where they 
supposed "ye town" would be laid out, who were living in dug-out 
caves, on the bank of the Delaware, or in lean-to shacks. Near the 
Thomas and Jones grant, was Peter Cock, a Swede, who had about 
200 acres, west of Mill Creek, i.e., Cobbs Creek, in Blockley tp., Phila. 
Co. Later the Swansons became neighbors across the Schuylkill, 
having been forced to excha'nge their land on the Delaware, for 
the city's site, and take land on both sides of the Schuylkill, from 
TTairmount to the Falls. The one Englishman in this neighborhood 
'ivas William Warner, who, with his son, held three large tracts of 
land, extending from the Schuylkill half-way to Cobbs Creek, along 
"the future Haverford Road. It is presumed that Warner came here 
jby the way of New England, and bought land from the Indians, 
•or the poorer Swedes. On 3 April, 1678, the Upland Court con- 
firmed 100 acres to him, and on I June, 1681, he was an applicant 
to this Court for further confirmations of purchases. After Pen'n 
■entered into possession, Mr. Warner became a member of young 
(Gov. Markham's Council, 3 Aug., 1681, and on 13 Sep. following, 
jhe became a justice, and was a member of the first assembly held in 
Philadelphia, 10 March, 1683. He called his land, which lay in the 
■"City Liberties," in Penn's time, "Blockley," from the place of his 
Biativity, in Worcestershire, and it gave name to the township in 
'which it lay, extending to the present 52d Street. 

[69] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

over, for they cannot be made in England; for one mam 
will work with ym as much as two men with ours. 

"Grindle Stones yield good profit here. 

"Ordinary workmen hath Is. 6d. a day [wages]. Carpen- 
ters 3 or four shillings a day. 

"Here are sheep [belonging to the settlers on the lower- 
Delaware river], but dear — about twenty shillings a piece., 
I cannot understand how they can be carried from England- 

"Taylors hath 5s. & 6s. a day [wages]. 

"I would have you bring salt for ye present use; — here 
is coarse salt; sometimes two m.easures of salt for one of 
wheat [in exchange], and sometimes very dear. 

"Six penny, & eight penny nails are most in use. 

"Horse shoes are in no use. 

"Good large shoes [for people] are dear. 

"Lead in small bars is vendible ; but guns are cheap* 
enough. 

"They plow, but very bungerly [here], & yet they have 
some good stone. 

"They use both hookes and sickles to reap with. 

"Time will not permit me to write much more, for we 
are not settled. 

"I [send] my dear love, and my wife's unto thy selfe and 
thy dear wife, and the rest of my dear friends, H. Ro.,. 
Eich: P., Evan Rees; J. ap E., Elizabeth Williams; E. & 
J. Edd., Gainor R., Ro. : On., J.: Humphrey; Hugh J. The.,, 
and the rest of fr'ds as if named. 

"I remaine thy Lo' friend & Bro while I am, 

"Edd Jones." 

"My wife desires thee to buy her one Iron Kettle, 3s or 
3s. 6d., 2 paire of shoes for Martha [a little child], and one 
paire for Jonathan, let them by strong and large [which 
confirms they had only two children at that time] ; be sure 
and put all yt goods in cases, if they be dry, they keep well,, 
otherwise they will get damp and mouldy [on the voyage]. 

This is ye 2nd letter, Skool Kill River. 

Ye 26th of ye 6mo. 1682." 

[70] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

Dr. Jones, and his companions, Edward Rees and William 
Edwards, (or the surveyor, Ashcom, assigned the lots to the 
partners in this purchase, as Dr. Jones gave him the num- 
ber of acres each bought) selected adjoining lots in their 
tract, he having laid out to himself here 156y2 acres (and 
the same amount was divided between the other two), 
which upon Powell's resurveJ^ he made 1531/4 acres, sup- 
posing three acres were to be in the Liberties. It was a 
narrow strip, extending from the river into the back coun- 
try, 788 perches, or about two and one-half miles, and 
beyond the present Montgomery avenue, the successor of 
the Lancaster road. The remainder of Dr. Jones's pur- 
chase was laid out in Goshen tovvmship (about West Ches- 
ter) subsequently. 

Dr. Jones had two tracts in Goshen of 125 acres and 400 
acres, made up of his original purchase, and of land he 
bought of "Edward Jones, Jr." and Richard Thomas. 

"Edward Jones, Jr.," (son of John ap Edward), having 
procured a resurvey on SOGi/o acres in two tracts of 1531/4 
acres, one in Goshen township, the other in Merion tovrn- 
ship, one parcel was 20 acres over, and the other 28 short, 
it was ordered 20. 2. 1703, that patent for the whole be 
issued to "Edward Jones, the elder," to whom "Edward 
Jones, Jr.," had sold. 

On same date, Edward Jones, Sr., it appears had 150 
acres in Merion township, and 153 acres in Goshen town- 
ship, and 200 acres more in same township, which he had 
purchased of Richard Thomas. 

Of these properties, he sold, in 1707, to Robert Williams, 
300 acres, and the balance, in 1720, to Ellis Williams. Dr. 
Jones also owned 160 acres in Blockley township on the 
old Lancaster road and the Merion line. 

From his confirmation patent for this Merion land, 
where he resided over fifty-five years, dated 22. 4mo. 1703, 
after the third, and final, survey, it would seem that he 
had bought from his adjoining lotholder on the South, Ed- 

[71] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

ward Owen, the back half of his purchase of 156i^ acres, 
and had sold the front half of his own first selection, and on 
this date, had added 188 acres, purchased from Edward 
Jones, Jr. (adjoining- his purchase from Owen), which land 
lay on the Haverford and Merion road, going East from 
near the Merion Meeting House, and extends over the 
Pensylvania Railroad at Narberth. His deed for his orig- 
inal purchase, dated 1 April, 1682, was from John Thomas, 
and was witnessed by John and Robert Lloyd, Griflfith and 
Reece Evan, and William John. 

Dr. Jones was honored with the appointment of a Justice 
of the Peace in the Welsh Tract, and was chosen as one 
of its representatives in the Pensylvania Assembly. 

According to Penn, in his long letter addressed to the 
London members of the Society of Free Traders of Pen- 
sylvania, dated at Philadelphia, 16. 6mo. 1683, "Edward 
Jones, son-in-law to Thomas Wynne, living on the Sculkil," 
was a good farmer. As Penn says: "He had with ordinary 
cultivation, for one grain of English barley, 70 stalks and 
ears of barley." , 

The Doctor died at his Merion home, in February, 1737. 
His burial is recorded on books of the Merion Meeting: 
"Edward Jones, Doctor, aged 80 years,"' 12mo. 26. 1737. 

Friend Thomas Chalkley, of "Chalkley Hall," in Frank- 
ford (Philadelphia), in his "Journal" records: "The 26th 
of the 12mo., 1737, being the first day of the week, thei'e 
was buried at Merion, Edward Jones, aged about 92 (sic) 
years. He was one of the first settlers of Pensilvania, a 
man much given to hospitality, a lover of good and virtuous 
people, and was beloved by them. I had a concern to be at 
that meeting before I left my home at Frankford, and 
before I heard of this Friend's death. There were many 
hundreds at his funeral." 

His will, signed 27. 3mo. 1732, was proved at Philadel- 
phia, 2 August, 1738, witnessed by John Roberts and 
Esther Thomas (marked). He was described as surgeon, 

[72] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

and aged and infirm. He named his sons Jonathan, Edward, 
Evan, Thomas and John Jones, the youngest son, and de- 
sired that John should continue to feed, clothe, and support 
his brother Thomas. His wife Mary was to have his estate 
during her life, and then it was to go to son John. He gave 
son-in-law, John Cadwalader, some land in the center of 
Philadelphia, and negroes to each of the Cadwalader girls, 
Mary, Rebecca, and Hannah, and one to each grandson, 
Thomas Cadwalader, and Martha Roberts. He named 
daughters Martha, Elizabeth, and Mary, and appointed 
his wife, sons Jonathan, Edward and Evan, and John Cad- 
walader, executors. 

Dr. Jones married, possibly in Denbighshire, Mary, a 
daughter of Dr. Thomas Wynne, also one of the Welsh 
adventurers for Penn's land ("Company No. 4"). It is 
not known when she died. She probably survived her hus- 
band, and it is supposed she was buried in the ground of 
the Merion Meeting. Of her it is said (see "The Philadel- 
phia Friend," XXIX, 396, which dates her decease 29. 7mo. 
1726, which is, of course, an error) : "She was an approved 
minister among Friends, and zealous for the promotion of 
the truth." Of their eight children* named in the Doctor's 
will : — 



*Among the present day 
Mrs. Robert R. Corson. 
Mrs. Howard Comfort. 
Dr. George Smith. 
Frank Foulke. 
Abraham L. Smith. 
Benj. Hayes Smith. 
Rodman Wister. 
Alex. W. Wister. 
Edward Browning. 
Mrs. Jawood Luke'ns. 
Mrs. Arthur V. Meigs. 
Mrs. Charles Richardson, 
Mrs. George B. Roberts. 



descendants of Dr. Edward Jones are: 
Blrs. William Cresson. 
Mrs. James Yocum. 
Mrs. Richard Day. 
Dr. Richard Foulke. 
Mrs. Charles L. Bacon. 
Mrs. Charles W. Bacon. 
William Wynne Wister. 
Mrs. Richard A. Tilghman. 
Dr. Owen Jones Wister. 
Mrs. Israel J. Wister. 
Robert Toland. 
Charles Follen Corson. 
Dr. Joseph K. Corson. 



[73] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

MartJia Jones, for whom her father asked, as above, two 
pair shoes be forwarded from Wales, just after her arrival 
here. She married, seventeen years after coming here, at 
the Merlon Meeting House, on '26. lOmo. 1699, the young 
school teacher, John Cadwalader** who it is supposed 
had been living at her father's house for two years. He 
died 16. 2mo. 1747. 

John Cadwalader, although he was never a land owner 
in Merion, but because of his relationship to many of the 
families here, and his marriage among them, Merion has 
ever claimed him as belonging there by rights. 

The exact date of his birth has not been preserved, but 
he was born about the year 1677-78, probably at Kiltal- 



**Some descendants of John Cadwalader, who are also descendants 
of Dr. Edward Jones: 



Mrs. Henry B. Robb. 

Mrs. Edw. Fenno Hoffman. 

Mrs. John Hone. 

Mrs. Samuel Chew. 

Mrs.William Pearsall. 

Mrs. John Steinmetz. 

Mrs. S. Bevan Miller. 

Mrs. Roland L. Taylor. 

Mrs. Fred Rhinelander Jones. 

Mrs. John Travis. 

Dr. Thomas Cadwalader, 1707-1779. 

Col. Lambert Cadwalader, 1732-1813. 

Gen. John Cadwalader, 1742-1786. 

Gen. Thomas Cadwalader, 1795-1873. 

Judge John M. Read, 1797-1874. 

Col. George A. McCall, 1802-1868. 

Judge John Cadwalader, 1805-1879. 

Gen. George Cadwalader, 1806-1879. 

John Cadwalader. 

Dr. Charles E. Cadwalader. 

Richard M. Cadwalader. 

John Lambert Cadwalader. 

Mrs. William Greene Cochran. 

Mrs. Samuel L. Shober. 



Mrs. Archibald McCall. 
Mrs. William Schley. 
Mrs. Philemon Dickinson. 
Mrs. Richard F. Stevens. 
Mrs. Henry J. Rowland. 
Wm. Cadwalader Schley. 
Mrs. William Woodville, Jr. 
Mrs. Arthur S. Johns. 
Mrs. Charles W. Ross. 
Mrs. George N. Schrew. 
Harmon Pumpelly Read. 
Mrs. Garret D. Wall Vrooni. 
Mrs. Samuel Meredith. 
Mrs. John Read. 
Samuel Reese Meredith. 
Admiral Cadwalader Ringgold^ 
Mrs. William Heni'y Rawle. 
Travis Cochran. 
William Cochran. 
George Cochran. 
Arthur Potts. 

Mrs. Samuel E. D. Hankinson.. 
Mrs. John Graham. 



[74] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

garth, Llanvawr, Merionethshire, where his father hved. 
He brought his certificate of removal from the 'Pembroke 
Quarterly Meeting, dated in 1697, which states he had at- 
tended school there. He probably came over soon in this 
year, and lived in the family of some relative on the Schuyl- 
kill, till he received the appointment as a teacher in the 
Friends' Public School, in Philadelphia, which he had, on 
motion of Griffith Owen, in the Philadelphia Monthly Meet- 
ing, 29. Imo. 1700, who recommended him as "a person fit 
for an assistant in the school." 

Having received this appointment, he probably moved 
into town, for in July, 1705, he was admitted as a freeman 
of the city. In 1718-33, he was a chosen member of the 
City Council, and of the Pensylvania Assembly, in 1729, 
in which body he served till his decease, intestate, on 23 
July, 1734. 

He purchased 200 acres of land in "Ughland," Chester 
county, on warrant from the Land Commissioners, paying 
£12. 10s. per 100 acres on 22. 9mo. 1715. 

JoTiathan Jones, eldest son, who came over with his par- 
ents, and for whom his father desired that a pair of strong 
and large shoes be sent from Wales, although he was only 
two years old. He was born at Bala, Merionethshire, on 
3. llmo. 1680; died 30. 7mo. and was buried at the Merion 
Meeting 'House, 8. 8mo. 1770, aged 90 years. His will, dated 
19 May, 1768, was proved at Philadelphia, 1 September, 
1770. 

Jonathan was given some of his father's estate, and 
bought from his brother-in-law, Evan Owen, the plantation 
of about 450 acres, which included the seats subsequently 
called "Wynnewood," and "St. Mary's," East of Ardmore, 
and North of the Pensylvania Railroad, which, it being a 
part of the Charles Lloyd tract, Thomas Lloyd had con- 
veyed by deed, dated 5. 6mo. 1691, to Robert Owen, who 
settled it on his son, Evan Owen. 

[75] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Jonathan Jones married at the Merion Meeting Gainor 
Owen, b. 26. 8mo. 1688, daughter of Robert Owen, of Mer- 
ion. 

This union of scions of two of the most important fam- 
ilies of the Welsh Tract, naturally brought to the wedding 
a great concourse of English and Welsh Friends, as may be 
judged by the signers of their extant marriage certificate, 
which is of longer form than now used, beginning: — < 
"Whereas, Jonathan Jones, son of Edward Jones, of 
Merion, in ye Welsh Tract, Chyrgeon, and Gainor Owen, 
daughter of Robert Owen, late of ye same place, yeoman, 
deceased, having declared their intention of marriage with 
each other before several Monthly Meetings of ye people of 
God called 'Quakers, in ye Welsh Tract aforsayd," etc., 
"Now these are to certifie to all whom it may concern, that 
for ye full accomplishment of their said intentions this 4th 
day of ye 8th mo in ye year 1705, they ye sayd Jonathan 
Jones & Gainor Owen appeared in the publick meeting of 
the said People, and others met together, at the public 
meeting place at Merion aforsayd & ye Jonathan 'Jones tak- 
ing ye sayd Gainor Owen by ye hand did in solemn manner 
openly declare that he took her to be his wife, promising 
to be unto her a faithful and loving husband until death 
separate them & then and there in ye sayd assembly ye sayd 
Gainor Owen did in like manner declare that she took ye 
sayd Jonathan Jones to be her husband & promising," etc., 
The names of the signers are given elsewhere. 

They had eleven children, of these: — Mary, m. Benjamin 
Hayes; Edward Jones, d. unm.; Rebecca, m. John Roberts, 
Jr., of "Pencoyd"; Owen Jones, (m. Susanna Evans,)* who 



*Owe'n Jones, 1711-1793, a provincial treasurer of Pensylvania, 
and a "Tory," m. 30. 3mo. 1740, Susanna, daughter of Hugh and 
Lowry Evans, of Merion, had Jane, m. Caleb Foulke; Lowry, m. 
Daniel Wister; Owen, 1745-1825, d. s. p., Susanna, vi. John Nancarro; 
Hannah, m. Amos Foulke; Rebecca, ni. John Jones, d. s. p., Sarah, m. 
Samuel Rutter, and Jonathan, 1762-1821-2, father of Col. Owen Jones, 

[76] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

received 350 acres from his father, and added about 120 
acres by purchase from brother Jonathan, — his possessions 
included much of Wister's "St. Mary's," and "Wister's 
Woods," and Wynnewood, which had been the estate of 
his brother-in-law, Evan Owen, and is still, in part, occupied 
by descendants; Ezekiel Jones, Jacob Jones; and Jonathan 
Jones, Jr., who received about 120 acres at Ardmore from 
his father, some of which was owned by the Glenn family, 
but is now divided among many newcomers. 

Elizabeth Jones, wife of Rees Thomas, Jr., of "Rose- 
mont" plantation, in Merion. 

Mai'y Jones. 

Edward Jones, Jr., of Blockley township. By gift from 
his father he had some of his father's land, along with the 
other sons. His will, signed in the presence of Martha 
Palmer, John Winne (marked), and Jonathan Hood, 14 
November, 1730, was proved 30 September, 1732, by wife 
Mary. He names children Aquilla, Penelope, Salvenas, 
Beula, and Prudence ; his brothers, Jonathan and John ; his 
father-in-law, William Palmer; Brother-in-law, John Cad- 
walader; Trustees. Jonathan and John Jones, William 
Palmer, and John Cadwalader. 

Thomas Jones, named in his father's will, 1732, and was 
probably an invalid. 

Evan Jones. He m. first, Mary Stephenson, of New York, 
and m. secondly, a daughter of Colonel Matthews, of Fort 
Albany, New York. 



M.C., deceased, whose son, J. Awbrey Jones, d. s. p., at "Wynne- 
wood," which property reverted, by the latter's will, eventually to 
the Toland family of Philadelphia, which was distantly related to 
him through the m. of Robert Toland and Rebecca, daughter of John 
Price Morgan, and his wife, Susan, daughter of Lowry Jones and 
Daniel Wister, aforesaid. 

[77] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

John Jones, of Philadelphia. He received from his fath- 
er's estate the farm of 188 acres, bought of "Edward Jones, 
Jr." (son of John ap Edward) , as above. This was included 
in the following sale: 

By deed dated 15 October, 1741, "John Jones, late of 
Lower Merion, and of Philadelphia, yeoman, (youngest 
son of Edward Jones, late of Merion, Chyrurgeon, de- 
ceased) , and Mary, his wife," conveyed "to Anthony Tunis, 
late of township of Germantown, now of Lower Merion," 
402 acres of land, "late estate of Dr. Edward Jones," for 
£812 Pensylvania money. The abutting properties on 
this land were owned by John Roberts, Hugh Evans, Rees 
Price, Richard George, and Thomas Davids. "The Road," 
the old Lancaster pike, was a prominent bound, that is, 
this property lay "along the Road dividing this land from 
Edward Price's, south and west, to the Meeting House 
Ground, thence by the same, south and east, by the Road 
to Haverford, south and west, by Rees Price's land." 



[78] 



MERION ADVENTURERS 

Of the three other gentlemen and their families who 
accompanied Dr. Edward Jones, and were founders of the 
Merion Meeting, namely: — 

Edward ap Rees, or Edward Price, 
Robert ap David, or Robert Davis, 
William ap Edward, orlVilliam Edwards, 
there is preserved the following information. They were 
all, of course, Friends, and members of the Penllyn 
Monthly Meeting, and resided in the old country in the 
same neighborhood, near Bala, where they were free-hold- 
ers of land, and gentlemen farmers. 

Edward ap Rees, or Rhys, or "Edward Frees," and "Ed- 
ward Price," as he is variously known (whose descendants 
assumed the surname "Price"), was a yeoman, and a min- 
ister among FriehdSj and a founder of Merion Meeting, 
came with his wife and two children, in Dr. Jones's party, 
from Kiltalgarth, Penllyn, in Merionethshire. He was the 
son of Richard Rhys (ap Grywwyth), of Tyddin Tyfod, in 
Merioneth, whose will, signed 26 January, 1685, was proved 
at the St. Asaph registry, and brother to Jane, wife of 
Cadwalader Morgan, and to Hannah, wife of Rees John 
William, all first settlers of Merion. ■ 

On request he filed with the Merion Preparative Meeting, 
of the Haverford Monthly Meeting, on 2. 12mo. 1704-5, 
according to the minutes, an account of his parentage, his 
home, marriage, education, &c., which unfortunately has 
not been preserved, or cannot be found. 

His first Merion land, about 76 acres, which he had by 
deed, dated 1 April, 1682, recorded 11. 4mo. 1684, witnessed 
by John Lloyd, Robert Lloyd, Griffith Evan and Reece Evan, 

[79] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

was not located on the Schuylkill, but back of the purchase 
of William ap Edward, and between the lands of Dr. Jones 
and Hugh Roberts. 

By deed dated 5. 5. 1691, he acquired 125 acres of the 
land of Governor Thomas Lloyd, part of Charles Lloyd's 
purchase from Penn ("Company No. 2"), which adjoined 
his original land on its west end, and also two acres from 
Dr. Jones, and received, on resurvey, a confirmatory patent, 
dated 1 January, 1703-4, for all his land, then amounting 
to 190 acres here. In 1707, he purchased 222 acres from 
Robert Roberts, north of his Lloyd land, and 10 acres on 
Mill, or Cobb's creek, in Blockley township. 

The balance of his original purchase, or his Goshen land, 
76 acres on Chester creek, and 78 acres which he bought, 
in 1697, of John William, of Merion (who in 1 mo. 1717-8, 
had patent for 400 acres on a branch of French creek), he 
sold, by deed of 9 January, 1708-9, to Ellis David, whose 
son, called David Ellis, held it in 1735. 

Edward Rees resided on his first purchase, some of which 
lay on both sides of the Lancaster Road, which remained in 
his family for two centuries, in a stone house, erected about 
1695, standing till recently northwest of the Merion Mieet- 
ing House. 

He was, of course, one of the organizers and first mem- 
bers of the Merion meeting. On the northeast corner of 
his land, and near a path, across his land, succeeded by 
the old Lancaster road (or Montgomery avenue), was the 
site selected as best, and most convenient for the public 
meeting house of the Merion Friends. He sold, for a 
nominal sum, one-half acre, and by deed, dated 20. 6mo. 
1695, conveyed it to the trustees of the Merion Peculiar, or 
Preparative Meeting, Messrs, Robert Owen, Edward Jones, 
Cadwalader Morgan, and Thomas Jones, but it is uncertain 
whether the stone Meeting House, then probably nearly 
completed, was erected on this lot, or it was land added to 
the graveyard. 

[80] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

Edward Rees was a man of education, and considerable 
properly, as the inventory of his personalty, taken after 
his decease, shows he owned Bibles and other books of 
history, in Welsh and English, and considerable cash in his 
house. Like some others of these early settlers, he re- 
visited his Welsh home, when advanced in years, with Ben- 
jamin Humphrey. He was buried at the Merion Meeting 
House, 6. 13. 1728. His will, signed 6 January, 1727-8, was 
proved at Philadelphia, 23 November, 1728. Overseers, 
Jonathan Jones and Samuel Humphrey; witnesses, Robert 
and Jon. Jones. 

He was twice married. He married first in V/ales, 
Mably, or Mabby, daughter of Owen ap Hugh levan, and 
niece of "Thomas ap Hugh, gent," of Wern Fawr, Merion- 
ethshire, and married secondly, in 1713, Rebecca, daughter 
of Samuel Humphrey (ap Hugh), of Haverford. She sur- 
vived him, and died without issue; her will signed 18. 3. 
17S2, proved 19 January, 1733 ; she named as executors, Ellis 
Price, brothers Daniel and Benj. Humphreys, and sisters 
Ann Hogg, of New Castle, and Lydia ; gave money to school 
at Haverford. 

By his first wife, who came over with him, and was 
buried at the Merion Meeting House, 23. 8mo. 1699, he had 
one son and two daughters: — 

Rees Price, mentioned as "Rees Rees," in his father's 
will, b. 11. llmo. 1678. His father conveyed some land to 
him, by deed of 7 August 1708. He married three times. 
His children were:'^ — (named in their grandfather's will) 
Edward Price; Mary, m. Rees Harry; and Margaret, m. 

first, Paschall; m. second, William Montgom-' 

ery; issue by both husbands, and, it is said, Jane, John, 
and Ellis Price. 

He m. first, at Radnor Meeting, 6. lOmo. 1705, Sarah, 
daughter of David Meredith, of Radnor. 

[81] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

He m. secondly, at Haverford Meeting, 9. lOmo. 1718, 
Elizabeth, daughter of Ellis Ellis, of Haverford, and his 
wife, Lydia, daughter of Samuel Humphreys aforemen- 
tioned. She was buried at the Haverford Meeting House, 
12mo. 5. 1733-4. Ellis Ellis' will, signed 13. 6. 1705, proved 
6 April, 1706, names wife and son Thomas only. Overseers ; 
Rowland Ellis, John Eichard, Rees Price, and Benjamin 
Humphrey. 

He m. thirdly, at Haverford Meeting, 10. 3mo. 1737, 
Ann Scotharn, a widow, of Darby. 

Rees Price was the second landlord of the Blue Anchor 
tavern, on Dock Creek (now Dock street), Philadelphia, 
where Penn landed on his first visit to his city, when the 
tavern, standing by the public landing place, was a little 
house, 22 feet on Dock (Street) creek, and 12 feet on 
Front Street, and was kept by Mr. Guest. 

His descendant, Esther Price, m. at Merion Meeting, 
16. lOmo. 1834, Benjamin Hunt, and this, it is claimed, was 
the last marriage at this Meeting. 

Catharine Price, d. an infant, and was buiied on her 
father's land, in Merion, 23. 8mo. 1682. This was the first 
death and burial in this little settlement, at the Falls of 
the Schuylkill, two months after arrival here. 

Jane Price, b. 11. 9mo. 1682. This was the first birth in 
this settlement, three months after arrival, according to 
her transmitted birth date. She was buried at the Merion 
Meeting House, lOmo. 13. 1769, the record saying: — "Jane 
Mares, widow of George Mares. Born on the banks of 
Schuylkill in a Stone Hut in 1683. She was the Daughter 
of Edward Rees, after called Edward Preist, and then 
Price." She m. first, Jonathan Hayes, d. before 1727, and m. 
secondly, George Marris, or Mares. 

Robert ap David, or Robert David, and Davis, as his 
descendants were called, was living at Gwerneval (Gwer- 
evol) Ismynydd, Penllyn, Merionethshire, when he pur- 

[82] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

'Chased from Thomas & Jones 312 y2 acres, paying £6. 05. 00, 
and decided to remove to this purchase in Penn's Province. 

He vi^as apparently a young married man, with one 
child, when he and his wife joined Dr. Jones's party at 
Liverpool, about the middle of May, 1682, and took passage 
in the "Lyon," for America. Arriving, in health, like the 
others of the party, in August he went up the Schuylkill 
with them, and settled on his land here, which on resurvey 
amounted to 1481/2 acres here, the balance of his purchase 
being subsequently laid out in Goshen township. 

He may have been the Robert David, "of Tuyn y nant, 
Merioneth, who filed Certificate from the Men's Meeting, 
Penllyn, dated IB. 5mo. 1683, with the Haverford Monthly 
Meeting, and had sent for it, which was signed by Robert 
and Evan Owen, Richard Price, Morris Humphrey, Thomas 
Prichard, Evan Rees, Reece Evan, Roger Roberts, Hugh 
and Edward Griffith, Griifith and David John, and William 
Morgan. 

His land on the Schuylkill, which had been assigned to 
him by the surveyor, extended back from the river only 
386 perches, to the land allotted to and taken up by John 
ap Edward, and succeeded to by "Edward Jones the 
younger." Here he resided as a gentleman farmer for fifty 
years, the balance of his life. He died in October, 1732, 
and was buried at the Mterion Meeting House. 

By deed, dated 1. 1. 1694, he added to his farm, by pur- 
chase from Dr. Griffith Owen, the 1531/1 acres, extending 
inland from the river 690 perches to Lloyd's land, and 
adjoining his original purchase on the North, which was 
the original purchase of Edward Owen through Thomas & 
Jones. Of this tract, Robert sold in the same year, 25 
acres to Richard V/alter. 

By deed dated 20. 5. 1683, recorded 28 October following, 
Robert David bought 1561/1 acres (76i/2 acres of the lot 
being unimproved land in the Thomas & Jones tract), 
from Evan Rees, the Penmaen grocer, for £3. 2. 6. Wit- 

[83] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

nesses, Hugh Roberts, John Owen, Eliis Davis, and Maurice 
Davies. The receipt for the purchase money is in Latin. 
This land he exchanged for the sanae amount with Gainor 
Roberts, which latter land he also sold to Richard Walter, 
(with the 25 acres which adjoined it,) by deed of 1 Decem- 
ber, 1694. Mr. V/alter had his purchase resurveyed, and 
received patent, dated 8. 4. 1703, for 117 acres. The land 
is all near and on the old Lancaster road, near the City 
Line. 

Robert David's holdings in Goshen township, on Chester 
creek, were at one time, 346 acres, made up of 2341/2 acres, 
his original purchase, and 88% acres bought of Richard 
Thomas, Jr., and 23 acres allowed him by the Commis- 
sioners. 

His final patent, dated 20. 5. 1703, for his Merion land, 
called for 280 acres and for his Goshen land, 346 acres, 
although on 12. 2. 1703, he claimed only 2751/2 acres in Mer- 
ion, and 243 acres in Goshen, or 509 1/^ acres. 

Robert David, of Merion, bequeathed all his estate to his 
only son, Thomas Davis, by his will, signed 26 April, 1732, 
witnessed by Robert Evans, Rees Lloyd, and Robert Jones, 
and proved 18 October, 1732. He mentions his wife, Eliza- 
beth, and daughters Elizabeth and Jane, and grandchil- 
dren (Jane's children), and Elizabeth, Jane and Robert, 
David, kinswoman Margaret Roberts, and his brother Ellis ; 
gave some money for the graveyard at the Merion Meeting 
House; and named as executors his wife, and daughter 
Elizabeth, and as trustees, John Cadwalader, Robert Rob- 
erts, and Robert Jones. His wife, "Elizabeth Davis" 's will, 
signed 4 June, 1734, present Thomas and John Cadwalader, 
was filed 31 July, 1734, mentions son Thomas Davis, daugh- 
ter Elizabeth Davis, executrix; mentions grandchildren 
Robert Roberts, Elizabeth Evans, and Jane Roberts. 

The brothers, William ap Edward, and John ap Edfward, 
it has long been supposed, both came over in Dr. Jones's 
party, arriving here in August. 1682. William, there is 

[84] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

good evidence, certainly did come with the Doctor, but 
John did not, as we shall see. 

They were sons of Edward ap John, a free-holder, of 
Cynlas township, in Llanddervel parish, Merionetshire, 
and who lived near Bala, and was buried, according to the 
register, at the parish church, on 1 March, 1667. He ha^d 
two other sons, Evan Edward, who came over before 1704, 
and Thomas Edward, of Llanllidiog, in Llanddiervel, 1686. 

William ap Edv^ard, a yeoman, was described as of 
Ucheldri, and of Nantlleidiog, and Cynlas, and he v»^as 
sometimes known as "William Bedward," aj] and ab being 
interchangeable. His descendants assumed the name 
"Williams." A more particular account of him and his 
brother, John, we are unable now to learn, as the account 
of himself and brothers, John and Evan, and their families, 
and old home life, filed with the Merion Preparative Meet- 
ing, by William, 2. Imo. 1704-5, has disappeared from the 
Meeting archives. 

William ap Edward was twice married, and in May, 1682 
with his second wife, Jane, and two daughters by his first 
wife, Katharine, he embarked for America, with Dr. Jones's 
party, on the "Lyon," and with others of this company 
settled on his purchase on the Schuylkill, in the Fall of 
1682. Here he lived about ten years only, and sold his 
I6V2 acres in Merion, on the Schuylkill, by deed dated 17. 
6. 1694, to Hugh Roberts, whose land adjoined his on the 
North, and removed to a tract which he purchased in the 
iiberty Lands, or Blockley township, surveyed 23. 2. 1692, 
and confirmed by deed to him, 27. 10. 1693. A part of the 
village of Overbrook is on his land. 

His Blockley land was made up of the 100 acres of 'T,ib- 
'erty Land," which he bought, (said to have been the same 
claimed, on account of the purchase of 5,000 acres, by Thom- 
as & Jones), and 30 acres on account of the original pur- 
chase of 1,000 acres by William Jenkins, and 20 acres on 

L851 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

account of Jonah Hasting's purchase of 1,000 acres, and. 
this tract of about 150 acres seems to have been all he 
owned in 12mo. 1701. This land, where he lived and died, 
subsequently was included in the great estate of the George 
family- — the families intermarried — and "Overbrook 
Farms." 

By deed of 21 January, 1703, he conveyed his 75 acres, 
on Chester Creek, Goshen Township, to Robert William. 

V/illiam ap Edward's will, dated 29 December, 1714, was, 
proved by his wife, at Philadelphia, 29 January, 1714-5. 

He mentions his son Edward, daughters Mary, and Eliz- 
abeth, wife of Thomas Lloyd, Katharine, and Sarah, gives. 
money to the Merion Meeting, and appoints as overseers,, 
his son Edward, and William Thomas Lawrence, Henry- 
Lawrence, and Thomas Lloyd, and friends David Jones- 
and Thomas Jones. Witnesses : — James Hinton, Jenkin 
David (marked), and Abel Thomas. 

He was buried at the Merion Meeting lOmo. 31. 1714^ 
(John George was also buried here on this day). His wife,. 
Jane, was buried here, aged 93 years, on 8mo. 3. 1745. 

He m. first, Katharine Robert, d. in 1676. She was a sis- 
ter to the Friends' minister, Hugh Roberts, and Gainor- 
Roberts, both of the Thomas & Jones purchasers' colony,, 
and had by her, two daughters, namely, 

Elizabeth Williams, b. 14. 3. 1672, who came over with her- 
father. She m. Thomas Lloyd, "not the President," who wag> 
one of the original purchasers from Thomas & Jones, but: 
resided about a mile North of the village of Bryn Mawr. 

Katharine Williams, who came over with her father, and. 
d. s. p. 

He m. secondly, about 1681, Jane, daughter of John api 
Edward, (who, of course, was not his brother), a farmer- 
near Bala, and had by her, Avho came over with him, four- 
children : — 

[8fi] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

Sarah Williams, b. 20. 8mo. 1685, in Merion. She m. 
Thomas Lawrence, son of David Lawrence, and his wife, 
a daughter of Thomas Ellis. 

Edward Williams, only son, b. 7. 12mo. 1689 ; he received 
from his father his Blockley land ; will proved at Philadel- 
phia, 21 February, 1749. He was very particular as to be- 
quest to his wife, leaving her "a clothes-press in the par- 
lour," and his "white mare and colt, and new blue-plush 
side-saddle." He m. Eleanor, daughter of David Law- 
rence, of Haverford. Issue: Joseph, father of Rebecca, 
m. Amos George; Eleanor, to. Joseph Bond, and Sarah, 
m. Edward George) Daniel, Sarah (wife of Joshua Hum- 
phreys) Edward and Jane (wife of Evan Thomas) . 

Ellen Williams, b. 19. 4mo. 1691, to. Henry Lawrence. 

Mary Williams, b. 11. llmo. 1694, to. Richard Preston, 
of Haverford. 

John ap Edward, the brother of William ap Edvv^ard 
aforesaid, was another of the parties to the "Thomas & 
Jones tract," but he did not come over with him in the Dr. 
Jones party, arriving in August, 1682, as supposed. In the 
testimony before Penn's Commissioners, of Dr. Joites, in 
June, 1702, taken in the matter of a servant of the late 
John ap Edward claiming his "time" v^/as up and desiring 
to be relieved from further servitude, the Doctor declared 
that this servant man "came to this Province about the year 
1683, as the servant of John ap Edward," and there is 
evidence that John brought over four servants, therefore, 
if John ap Edward and servants came over with the Doctor 
in 1682, I think he would have so stated, and not have put 
his arrival "about the year 1683." Nor did John ap Ed- 
ward come over in the party of Hugh Robert, bound for the 
Thomas & Jones tract, because his will is dated 16 October, 
1683, when he was very ill, and the Roberts party was then 
at sea, having sailed in September, 1683. The reference 

[871 



VV'ELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

in John's will that he had brought servants over, is proof 
that the will was written here after arrival. Nor should 
I imagine that he arrived in 1683 after Roberts arrived, for, 
being ill in October, he would hardly have sailed in time 
to arrive "about the year 1683." Therefore, I judge that 
John ap Edward arrived here, in some party coming out to 
Philadelphia, between August, 1682, and October, 1683. The 
two witnesses to his will were probably servants, possibly 
his, as the names of only two of his, a man and a maid, 
have been found. 

When John ap Edward arrived, he found his land laid out 
for him. He had, as we have seen, contributed £6. 5. 0. to- 
wards the fund to buy 5,000 acres of Penn's land through 
Mr. Thomas and Dr. Jones, and that his share amounted to 
31214 acres, for v/hich he received the deed, dated 18 April, 
1682. When Ashcom roughly laid out the Thomas & Jones 
purchase into lots, 24 August, 1682, he assigned, by order of 
the surveyor-general, only half of this purchase (as was the 
treatment of all the other Welshmen, much to their 
disgust, for they had been given to understand, and it was 
not absurd, that the purchaser of each lot would have all 
of his land in one place) , 156J/4 acres to John ap Edward, 
who found it laid out about 1 1/5 mile from the Schuylkill 
river, and the balance was a right to the same amount to 
be laid out in Goshen township, miles away, which was 
not a pleasant surprise for a practical farmer, one that 
would expect his farm should be in one tract, or at least, in 
contiguous parcels. However, as this was the misfortune 
of the other Welsh farmers, John accepted his allotment. 

On Powell's map of the Thomas & Jones tract, John is 
credited with only ISSy^ acres, as Powell supposed he was 
entitled to three acres of Liberty Land, and that his land 
stands in the name of "Edward Joans, Jun'r," who was his 
son who TMcceeded to it on the decease of his elder brother. 
As this draft was made by Powell in 3mo. 1684, Evan, the 

[88] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

heir, and his father were then both dead, and Edward, a 
minor, was the heir apparent. 

When John ap Edward came over, he brought with him 
four servants, possibly three men, farm hands, and his 
wife's maid. He found his land, though far from the great 
natural highway, the river, of quality equal to any other's, 
as was the bargain, and much better than most of it, for 
we know it lay in the beautiful, rolling country near our 
Merion settlement. He apparently lived only long enough 
to see one crop gathered. From his will it may be known 
that he was a shareholder in the Free Society of Traders 
in Pa., and was a prosperous man, and a Friend, and a 
founder of the Merion Meeting. 

His will, dated 16. 8mo. 1683, when he was "weak of 
body" ; witnessed by Gabriel Jones and William Morgan 
(probably servants), was not proved until 8. 2mo. 1686, by 
his brother, "William Edward, of Merion." 

To his eldest son, Evan Jones, he gave the 3121/^ acres, 
which he had "purchased from William Penn." 

To his youngest son, Edward Jones, he gave "the land 
due me for bringing over of servants, 200 acres," [that is, 
he brought four servants, receiving the usual allowance of 
fifty acres for each] , and in addition his interest, or shares, 
"in the Society Trade of Pensylvania," [i. e., Free Socie+y 
of Traders], valued by him at £5. 

He gave to his daughter, Elizabeth, £15 "of English 
money," with two feather beds, and bed clothes belonging 
to them, two brass pans, two pewter dishes, and one large 
trunk. 

The balance of his personal estate, and his interest in the 
servants, he desired to be sold to pay his debts, and if any- 
thing remained, he desired his sons to have it. 

He gave ten shillings to "my nephew John Evan." 

He appointed "my beloved brethern Evan and William ap 
Edward, and my trusty friends Hugh ' Roberts, 
David Davies, John Roberts, and Hugh John Thom- 

[89] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

as," to be his executors, (although none but Wil- 
liam was in this country, but he had reason to 
expect they would come), "to whose care I leave my 
children," as they were minors at that time. He desired 
that the monthly meeting decide what it was best to do with 
his estate should both of his sons die young, and without 
issue. As this will was written a month, or more, before 
the presumed time of organizing the Haverford Monthly 
Meeting, he may have expected it, or referred to the Bur^ 
lington Monthly Meeting, which covered the meetings then 
in Pensylvania. 

"My maid, Mary Hughs, [or Hughes] the sum 
of two pounds at the expiration of the time of her appren- 
ticeship." 

The executed will has not been preserved, but there is a 
copy of it on file, which shows he marked his will with 
simply a large E. In the package of testamentary papers 
connected with the settlement of his estate, at the office of 
the Register of Wills, Philadelphia, is the original rough 
draft of the will, unsigned, and undated. Also the original 
inventory of his personal estate, made as it says by Thomas 
Elhs, Hugh Jones, and John Roberts, on "the 3 day of the 
first month 1683-4," which is evidence that John died be- 
tween 16 October, 1683 and 3 March, following. 

It seems that all the personal property was sold in a lump 
per inventory, after John's death, and that the appraisers 
filed a copy of the inventory on 20 February, 1702-3, when 
the heir, Edward, became of age, to show the sum derived 
from the sale, and stated : — "The Inventory was cast up 
and found to be £63. 15. 9, according to English money, 
which being reduced to pensilvania money is £79. 14. 8. 
five pounds of English money being allowed to the buyer 
of the said Inventory by the trustees, [which made the sale 
net] £73. 9. 8." 

The value of the unexpired time of the servants is 
given:— "The Soms of the Servants being £30. 15. 0." 

[00] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

which is in addition to the aforesaid valuation of the per- 
sonalty. From the inventory, we learn that John was 
well supplied with agricultural and household implements, 
bedding, clothing, and some grain, cows, and horses, and 
harness, and that there were sold his pair of spectacles, 
children and women's clothing, pewter, a gun, powder, four 
powder horns, fishing tackle, "leathen dresses," and "lethern 
waistcoats." 

There is also preserved the receipt of Elizabeth Jones, 
endorsed "no part of the record," that is of the original 
testamentary proceedings, "Received from William Ed- 
ward administrator of the Estate of my Father, John Ed- 
ward, the Summe of fifty pounds, seven Shillings currant 
silver money of Pensylvania, in full of all bequests and Leg- 
aceys bequeathed to me by my sd father in his last will & 
testament bearing date of sixteenth day of the eight month 
in the year 1683, and in full of the shars that befell me of 
my deceased brother Evan Jones his estate, and I do acquitt 
and discharge the said William Edward his heirs, of all 
trusts and Legaceys, dues, debts, and demands from the 
beginning of the world to this day, 22 of 3mo. 1699." She 
wrote her name "Elizabeth Jones," and was then twenty- 
eight year of age, and apparently unmarried. The wit- 
nesses to this receipt were the same as those to the copy 
of the inventory mentioned, namely, Hugh Jones (marked), 
Thomas Jones, and Robert Jones. 

The name of the wife and mother of his children of John 
ap Edward has not been found. She was apparently de- 
ceased when he made his will. His descendants assumed 
the name "Jones." Of his issue: — 

Evan Jones, eldest son, h. 2. 2mo. 1677, mentioned in his 
father's will, died young and unmarried before 3mo. 1684. 

Edward Jones, second son, and youngest child, h. 5. 8mo. 
1681. He succeeded to all of his father's land when he be- 

[91] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

came of age, in 1702-3. According to a note, he had his 
father's will copied into the records. 

By deed, dated 13. 2mo. 1702-3, he conveyed all of the 
lands of his inheritance to Dr. Edward Jones, of Merion, 
^ving "Receipt of Edward Jones, of Philadelphia, only 
son of John ap Edward, deceased, and nephew of William 
ap Edward, of Blockley," dated 23 January, 1702, Recorded 
in Philadelphia County Deed Book, No. C. IL, fo. 198. His 
Merion tract of land extended from about the old Lancaster 
Road (Montgomery Avenue), across the Pensylvania 
Railroad between Merion station, and the borough of Nar- 
berth. 

Elizabeth Jones, first child, b. 18. 12mo. 1671. She m. 
after 22 May, 1699, John ap Robert ap Cadwalader, or 
"John Roberts," of the Gwynedd settlement. They were 
the founders of the Roberts family of '"Woodlawn" plan- 
tation, in Whitpain township, Montgomery county, Pen- 
sylvania. 

Sarah Jones, b. 8. llmo. 1673, not named in her father's 
will. 



[92] 



FAMILIES AND LANDS 
OF SECOND ARRIVALS 



MERION ADVENTURERS 

The second party of Welsh from Merionethshire, mem- 
bers of the Penllyn Monthly Meeting^ who were purchasers 
■of land in the "Thomas & Jones Tract," to remove here, 
were: 

Hugh Robert. Cadwalader Morgan.--^ 

Edward Owen. Hugh John. 

William John. Katherin Thomas. 

"^ Gainor Roberts. 

This is the party generally known as "Hugh Roberts's 
party." 

They came over in the ship Morning Star, of Chester, 
Thomas Hayes, master, sailing from Mosson, in September, 
1683. After a voyage of two months, uneventful, except- 
ing for several burials at sea, they arrived in the Delaware, 
and at Philadelphia, 16-20 November following. 

There was a large passenger list, outside of the Roberts' 
party, in which there were 50 souls, or more, including 
servants, Welshmen and their families, coming over to 
settle somewhere in the great Welsh Tract, who all may 
have come under Proud's description: — "Divers of those 
early Welsh settlers were persons of excellent and worthy 
character, and several of good education, family, and 
estate." 

Of the most noted of those coming in this vessel, at this 
time, were John Bevan ("Company No. 3"), and his family, 
and party ; John Roberts, of "Pencoyd" ; Thomas Owen, 
who came to open-up Rowland Ellis's land; Rees Thomas, 
a future man of affairs in the Welsh Tract; Ralph and 
William Lewis; the Humphreys, Richard, John, and Sam- 
uel, the noted men of the Friends' Haverford Meeting; 

[95] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Griffith John ap Evan, Robert ffloid, William Morgan, Evan 
John, brother of Rees John William, of Merion, etc., all 
became land ovi^ners, prosperous farmers, "good men and 
true," in tovi^nships of Merion, Haverford, or Radnor, and 
elsewhere in the Welsh Tract. 

Hugh Roberts, Hugh Robert, or "Hugh ap Robert, of 
Kiltalgarth, yeoman," headed the second party of settlers 
from Merionethshire bound for the Thomas & Jones tract. 
In his immediate party, were his mother, his wife, his 
sister, Ganior Roberts, five children, and four servants. 

Hugh Roberts was a man of education, a pleasant writer, 
and an eminent minister among Friends, whom he joined 
in 1666, and many sketches of his ministerial life have 
appeared in Friends' publications. 

But little is now known of his ancestry, excepting that 
he was the son of Robert ap Hugh, or "Robert Pugh, gent," 
of Llyndedwydd, a leased farm, near Bala, and the lake, 
in Penllyn, Merioneth, by his wife, Katherine Roberts, 
who, then being a widow, accompanied her son to Pensyl- 
vania, and was buried at the Merion Meeting, in 1699. She 
was the daughter of William ap Owen, of Llanvawr parish, 
in Penllyn, where Hugh Roberts resided when he set out 
for America. 

Katharine Robert, of Llaethgwn, widow, and her daugh- 
ter, Gaynor Robert, of Kiltalgarth, spinster, both brought 
Certificates, dated 18. 5mo. 1683, from the Men's and Wo- 
men's Meeting, Penllyn, and signed by the same Friends, 
namely: — Robert, Ellin, and Janne Owen, Richard Price, 
Evan Rees, Reece Evan, Elizabeth William, Elizabeth John, 
Gainor John, Hugh and Edward Griffith, Cadwalader Ellis, 
Thomas Prichard, William Morgan, Roger Roberts, David 
John, Margaret John, Margaret David, and Margaret Cad- 
walader. 

Hugh Roberts, being so prominent a Friends' minister, 
in North Wales, suffered annoyances, fines, and imprison- 

[96] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

ment. He brought a certificate of membership, for himself, 
wife, and family, from the Men's Meeting, Penllyn, Mer- 
ioneth, dated 2. 5mo. 1683. 

Some members of this Men's Meeting at this time were: 
Robert Owen, Hugh Griffith. 

Evan Owen. Edward Griffith. 

Richard Price. Morris Humphrey. 

Cadwalader Ellis. Thomas Prichard^ 

Evan Rees. David Jones. : 

Rees Evan. - William Morgan, 

Ellis David. Griffith John. 

Thomas Ellis. Roger Robert. 

Rowland Ellis. Owen Humphrey. 

Nearly all of these were signers of Mr. Roberts's certifi- 
cate, in which he was described as of Llanvawr parish, 
Merioneth. 

He soon became well known in America as a travelling 
public minister, and in 1688, and 1697-8, made missionary 
visits to North Wales. On this last trip, he kept an inter- 
esting journal of his travels, beginning on 15. 12mo. 1697, 
which took him to England and Wales by the way of Mary- 
land and Virginia, which is still extant. 

This interesting journal, printed in full in the periodical 
of the Historical Society of Pensylvania, begins: — "In the 
year 1697, the 15th of ye mo. I set out from home to visit 
Friends in England and Wales, Samuel Carpenter and 
John Ascue accompanying me to Maryland." He held 
meetings en route, and in Maryland visited Mordecai Moore, 
Samuel Galloway, David Rawlins, the Widow Blackstone, 
"who was no Friend." From her home, where he stopped 
two days, he went to the Rapahannock river, alone, 
through the woods, on foot, "to one Captain Taylor, who 
was very kind to me." Thence "to a friend, George Wilson, 
a place where I had been before." "Here I had a very open 
Meeting amongst ye people of ye world." Then to New 
Kent county, "Where there is a meeting of Friends," and 

[97] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

next day to a Monthly Meeting at Curies on James river, 
"met dear James Dickinson," "And I went to Edward 
Thomas at James river, Charles Fleming coming along with 
me," and attended a Quarterly Meeting at Tenbigh. Then 
visited Alexander Llewellyn. "We travelled that same day 
46 miles, besides keeping ye Meeting, and it was not hard 
for us to do it because ye Melting love and power of God 
was set over all." From this Welsh settlement, Mr. Rob- 
erts went over the James river to Walter Bartlet's, "and so 
on to Sevenech, where I had a good meeting at ye Meeting 
House." Visited to homes of Henry Wiges, William Cook, 
Richard RatcHfF, Daniel Sanburn, and John Coopland, and 
held a Meeting at Chuckatuck. Went to the homes also of 
William Scot, Leven Buffstin, Elizabeth Gallowell, and 
Elizabeth Hollowell, having Meetings at each house, "from 
thence on board ye ship, which was to ye mouth of James 
river, where ye Fleet met, we stayed on board 15 days 
before we sailed, and had several Meetings from ship to 
ship, and upon ye 7th day of ye 3d month we sailed." Next, 
he saw land on 17. 4mo. and arrived at Plymouth on 22. 
4mo. 

Resuming his travels, Mr. Roberts visited many Friends, 
and places in England, and at Bristol, "we met our dear 
friend William Penn, and were not a little glad to see one 
another." Entering Wales, he visited many Meetings, one 
at "Trefrug, wliere John Bevan liveth, and glad we were 
to meet one another." Together, they m.ade the rounds of 
many Meetings, at James Lewis's, Rediston; at Owen 
Bowen's, near Carmarthin; at James Preece's, City Boom. 
In Radnorshire, he visited Roger Hughes; at Lanole, Ed- 
From North Wales he travelled to many places in South 
Wales, then back to Merionethshire, in the North, where 
ward Jones, David Powel, Thomas Goodin, near Llwyn-du. 
"Penliyn where I was bom and bred," and visited there his 
he visited Lewis Owen, near Dollegelley, then to Bala, and 

[98] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

old friend, Robert Vaughan, and then made another pil- 
grimage through Wales. 

On his return here, he brought over a large party of 
people from Merioneth, and North Wales. But many died 
at sea. He arrived at Philadelphia 7. 5mo. 1698, and settled 
the surviving emigrants, some in Merion, and others at 
Gwynedd, of w^hich settlement he is considered the founder. 

Half of Hugh Roberts's original purchase from Thomas 
& Jones, by deed dated 28 February, 1681, recorded 16 
April 1684, witnessed by Daniel Jones, Robert Owen, Wil- 
liam Jones, Reece Evan, Thomas John, and William Apedd 
(ap Edward), was laid out for him before his first arrival, 
on the Schuylkill. This parcel of land, surveyed 306 acres, 
was along the side of the estate of the widow of his dear 
friend, John ap Thomas, and like hers, extended back to the 
lands of Thomas Lloyd, the Governor. 

For no other reason, as no evidence has been found in 
either case, than because he was a minister, it is assumed 
that the Merion Friends held all their Meetings, before the 
present Meeting House was erected, in 1695, in his house, 
and that the early weddings took place in the home of the 
Widow Thomas, because her house was most convenient, 
and more cheerful. However this may be, there is no docu- 
mentary proof for the assumptions, and the preserved rec- 
ords of the earliest functions in Merion are described as 
takmg place in the "public Meeting House." 

The Pensylvania land records of his day show that 
Hugh Roberts was a land speculator, as well as a minister, 
to the day of his death. But space permits only to tran- 
scribe a few of his land transactions, especially those con- 
nected with the the neighborhood of the Merion Meeting 
House. 

In addition to his original purchase of 3121/2 acres in 
Merion, he bought the Merion share, 76% acres (about the 
present Overbrook), of John Watkins, 23. 4mo. 1684. By 
deed of 1. 4mo. 1688, he bought from the Commissioners, 

[99] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

200 acres, in Merion, for which he had warrant to survey, 
and 100 acres "liberty land." Of this 300 acre lot, 100 acres 
he had bought for, or did sell to'the Widow Thomas, which 
sale was confirmed to her sons, Thomas and Cadwalader, 
22. 12. 1702. By deed of 17. 6mo. 1694, he purchased his 
brother-in-law's, William Edwards's, original purchase, 
761/2 acres, adjoining his land, on the Schuylkill. 

The aforesaid 100 acres of "Hberty lands," were in right 
of the Richard Thomas purchase from Penn, and lay on 
Indian creek and the Mill Creek, (now Cobb's Creek). 
When Penn was here he sold to Hugh 200 acres of liberty 
land, on the west side of the Schuylkill river, for which 
he was to pay £150. He gave Penn £60 cash in hand. On 
26. llmo. 1701, he asked for further time, as he could not 
raise the balance due. The Commissioners ordered him to 
furnish good bond, and they would give him an extension 
till 29. 7mo. next. 

Hugh Roberts also bought of Peter Young 500 acres, 
and of Francis Cook 400 acres, that is 900 acres of the 
original tract of John & Wynne ("Company No. 4"). This 
purchase lay in Blockley and Merion townships, and in 
other places. Of his Merion lands, he sold 295 acres to 
Cadwalader Ellis, and 335 acres were confirmed to his 
executors, by a patent, dated 26 March, 1706. 

Of his Blockley purchase above, 200 acres became the 
seat called "Chestnut Hill," along the old Lancaster road, 
which his youngest son, EdM^ard Roberts, inherited. Part 
of this tract is now included in Fairmount Park. In 1721, 
a portion, that including what is known now as "George's 
Hill," in the West Park, was purchased (300 acres alto- 
gether) from said Edward by Edward George (son of 
Richard and Jane George, who came from Llangerig, in 
Montgomeryshire, about 1707-8), whose descendants, Jesse 
and Rebecca George, gave it to the city forever for a park. 
Mr. Roberts also had 300 acres in Radnor in 1717. 

[100] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

Hugh Roberts had at one time altogether 1349% acres in 
Merion, and tracts of land in the townships of Duffryn 
Mawr, and Goshen, on Ridley Creek, some of which he dis- 
posed of to Cadwalader Ellis. 

Hugh Roberts, it has been said, died at the house of John 
Redman, in Long Island, New York, when on a visit, in 
6mo. 1702, and his remains were brought over from Long 
Island and buried at the Merion Meeting House, on the 
20th. August, "after a large meeting was held." -^ 

But a letter from Judge Isaac Norris, to Jonathan Dick- 
inson, dated 11. 6mo. 1702 ("Penn-Logan Correspond- 
ence"), says: — "Dear Hugh Roberts is, we think, very near 
his end. I was to see him on First-day, and then took a 
solemn and tender farewell, his soul being resigned, earn- 
estly desiring and expecting his change; as in his life he 
was a preacher of Love, so now, in his latest moment does 
he continue to be so." 

Therefore, it is most probable that he died at home, in 
Merion. The entry on the Merion Meeting minutes is 
"Hugh Roberts departed this Life 6mo. 18. 1702." 

His will, signed 20. 5mo. 1702, was proved at Philadel- 
phia, 7 December, 1702. He names his children, and dis- 
tributed about 1200 acres in Merion, and 1100 acres in 
Goshen township, a meadow called "Clean John," &c. He 
bequeathed £5 to the Merion Meeting. He mentioned his 
servants, namely, two men, Morris Robert, and John Rob- 
ert, and boys, Griffith and Morris. He named as trustees, 
John Roberts (of "Pencoid"), Cadwalader Morgan, Griffith 
John, and Griffith Owen. Witnesses: — Samuel Bowne, 
Criffith Owen, and Samuel Jennings. 

Hugh Roberts was twice married. He m. first, Jane, 
daughter of Owen ap Evan Robert Lewis, of Fron Goch, 
in Merioneth. She was a sister of Robert Owen, of Merion. 
She came to Merion with him, and brought the certificate 
above mentioned, and died 1. 7mo. 1686, and was buried at 
Merion Meeting House. He m. secondly, 31. 5mo. 1689, at 

[101] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

the Llwyn-y-Braner Meeting, in Penllyn, Merionethshire,, 
when on a visit, Elizabeth vch. John, or Elizabeth Jones. 

His six children, all by his first wife, Jane Owen, who 
was of Royal Descent, assumed the surname ' 'Roberts. ' ' Of 
them : — 

Robert Roberts, b. 7. llmo. 1673. By his father's will, he 
and his brother Owen received jointly his Merion land. 

On 26. Imo. 1706, this land was patented to them, in two 
tracts, of 222 acres, and 31 acres each, and by deed of 16 
October, 1707, "Robert Roberts, of Maryland," conveyed 
his 222 (220) acres, which lay along the Lancaster road 
(Montgomery avenue) from the Meeting House to the Gulf 
road, and 10 acres, called "Clean John Meadow," on the 
"Upper Mill Creek," to Edward Rees. 

Robert Roberts was twice married, and is supposed tO' 
have removed to Maryland, and died there. He m. firsts 
Catharine Jones, and m. secondly, Priscilla Jones. 

Ellin Roberts, b. 4. lOmo. 1675. 

Owen Roberts, second son, b. 1. lOmo. 1677. He inherited 
some land from his father, as above, but entering on mer- 
cantile life in Philadelphia, was never a Merion planter, 
There was in 1716, an "ould Grave Yard" on his Merion 
property, from which bodies were removed to the ground 
of the Merion Meeting. He was the worthy son of his 
father, and was honored by being made the high sheriff of 
Philadelphia county, 1716-23; the treasurer, 1712-16 j 
collector, 1716-23, a member of the city council, 1712, and 
of the Assembly, 1711, &c. 

He owned 231 acres, of the east end of his father's orig- 
inal land, and by deed of 14 October, 1726, his relict, Ann,, 
then residing in Nantmell township (Chester county), con- 
veyed the same to Jonathan Jones, of Merion. 

His will, signed 31. Imo. 1706, witnessed by Griffith John,, 
Evan Owen, John Roberts, and Robert Jones, was proved at 

[102] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

Philadelphia in 1723. He named brother Edward, and ap- 
pointed trustees, brothers-in-law Evan Bevan and Robert 
Jones, with uncle John Roberts and Griffith John. He m. 23. 
Imo. 1696, Ann, daughter of John Bevan, one of the early 
settlers of Merion, who died after 1723. Issue, six children. 
His infant son, Owen Roberts, was buried at Merion Meet- 
ing, 7nio. 25. 1707, but he had another Owen, b. 23. 8. 1711. 
Other children were Hugh Roberts, b. 30. 5. 1699. John 
Roberts, b. 12. 8. 1701, m. Mary Jones, and Awbrey Roberts, 
6. 24. 4. 1705. 

Edward Roberts, third son, b. 4. 2mo. 1680. He received 
the "Chestnut Hill" place from his father, in 1702, but re- 
sided in Philadelphia, where he was a member of the City 
Council, in 1717, and Mayor, in 1739-40, having served as 
alderman, and a justice. He used for his seal "a rose, un- 
der a crown, between two human hearts." His will was 
proved 6 May, 1741. 

He m. first, Susanna Painter, buried at the Merion Meet- 
ing House, lOmo. 3, 1707, daughter of George Painter, and 
m. secondly, Martha Hoskins, and m. thirdly, Martha, Cox. 
He had four children: Hugh, Jane, wife of William Fish- 
bourne, Mayor of Philadelphia 1719-21; Mary, and Eliza- 
beth Bond. 

William Roberts, 6. 26. 3mo. 1682 ; d. in 1697. 

Elizabeth Roberts, &. in Merion, 24. 12mo. 1683, named in 
her father's will. 

Edward Ovv^en was residing in Dolserey, or Doleyserre, 
Merioneth, and described as "Gentleman," when he bought, 
by deed, dated 1 April, 1682, 312i/^ acres through Thomas 
& Jones. He was a son of Robert Owen (ap Humphrey), of 
Dolserey, by his wife, Jane, a daughter of Robert Vaughan, 
of Hengwrt. 

Edward Owen came over in Hugh Robert's party in 1683; 
and found his land laid out on the Schuylkill, 1531A acres, 

[103] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANL4 

adjoining that of Dr. Jones, and the balance in Goshen tp. 
He probably never resided on this estate, as he sold it to his 
orother. Dr. Griffith Owen, by deed dated 9. Imo. 1684-5, 
and according to it, was then living on Duck Creek, in New 
Castle Co. (Delaware) . His Goshen rights he also conveyed 
to this brother, who had the land laid out, subsequently, on 
Chester Creek. 

Dr. Griffith Owen, with his wife, Sarah, who survived 
him, son Robert, d. before 1717, and two daughters, Sarah 
and Elinor, and seven servants, from Prescoe, in Lanca- 
shire, came over (with his parents, and brother Louis Owen, 
who settled in New Castle Co.), in the ship Vine, of Liver- 
pool, sailing from Doleyserre with a large party bound for 
the Welsh Tract, and arrived at Philadelphia 17. 7mo. 1684. 

Besides the land he had fom his brother, which Dr. Owen, 
by deed dated 1. Imo. 1694-5, conveyed to Robert David, 
whose land adjoined, the Doctor bought some from Richard 
Davies and John ap John, and the Land Commissioners (of 
which Board he was a member in 9ber, 1701), in Goshen, 
and had 775 acres, in one tract, which was confirmed to him, 
by patent dated 13 Dec. 1703. The Goshen Meeting House 
was built in the center of this tract, on land donated by the 
Doctor. 

Dr. Owen died in Philadelphia in 1717, aged 70 years, and 
was one of the earliest physicians here, others being Dr. 
Edward Jones, Dr. John Goodson, Dr. Thomas Wynne, and 
Dr. Graeme. His will, signed 3 Jan. 1717, proved 6 Jan. 
named wife and children, Edward, Griffith (both became 
"practitioners in physick" in Philadelphia), John (a mar- 
iner), Sarah, wife of Jacob Jonathan Coppock, and Ann, 
wife of John Whitpaine. Son-in-law William Sanders, 
and "daughter-in-law, Mary, wife of Samuel Marriot." 

William ap John, or William Jones, a yeoman, and wid- 
ower, was residing in Bettws, in Merioneth, when he be- 
came a purchaser of 1561/4 acres, in the Thomas & Jones 
tract, for £3. 2. 6. Witnesses to his deed, dated 1 April, 

[104] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

1682, being John Lloyd, Griffith Evan, Robert Lloyd and 
Reece Evan. 

He came over in the "Morning Star" with the Hugh Rob- 
erts party, in 1683, bringing his children, and found IGVz 
acres laid out for him on the Schuylkill. He had about the 
same amount assigned to him in Goshen tp. There seems 
to be no proof that he ever resided on his Merion land, as 
lie died shortly after coming over, his nuncupative will 
Ibeing sealed aJid proved at Philadelphia on 1. Imo. 1684-5. 
He bequeathed his lands to his son, "John Williams," and 
appointed Hugh Roberts and John Roberts, (of "Pencoid"), 
trustees and guardians of his minor children. His wife is 
mentioned in his will as "Ann Reynald, deceased." 

Of his children: — 

John Williams, as above said, inherited all his father's 
lands. By deed, dated 18. 4mo. 1694, he conveyed his Mer- 
lon land to Cadwalader Morgan, whose land adjoined his, 
and his Goshen land, 78 acres, he sold, IS. 6mo. 1697, to Ed- 
ward Rees, of Merion, who conveyed it, 9 Jan. 1707-8, to 
Ellis David. 

The other children, "who took the name Jones," were 
Alice, Katherine and Gwen, minors in 1685. 

Cadwalader Morgan was residing in Gwernevel, or 
Gwemfell, Ismynydd tp., Penllyn parish, Merioneth, when 
he, with his wife and several children, removed to Pensyl- 
vania, coming over on the "Morning Star," with the Hugh 
Roberts party, in 1683. 

He brought the usual certificate of membership and re- 
moval, from the Penllyn Men Friends' Meeting, dated 8. 
5mo. 1683, and signed by Richard Price, Robert and Evan 
Owen, Evan Rees, Rees Evan, Roger Roberts, Hugh and 
Edward Griffith, Griffith John, William Morgan and David 
John. He was a minister among Friends, "though he held 
no great share of the ministry," was the estimate recorded 
of him by Eleanor Evans, of Gwynedd, a daughter of Row- 

[105] 






WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

land Ellis. But as he had greatly "suffered" in Wales, be- 
cause of his prominence, and religious faith, he purchased 
156 acres through Thomas & Jones, and permanently left 
Wales. 

On arrival, he found part of his purchase laid out on the 
Schuylkill, and here he erected a dwelling house, near "Pen- 
coid," and passed the remainder of his days. His will, signed 
10 Sep. 1711, was proved at Philadelphia, on 10 Oct. fol- 
lowing. In it he mentioned his brothers, "Morgan Lewis" 
and "John Morgan," of Radnor. Cadwalader was therefore 
a son of James Morgan, who in 1701, had 450 acres in Rad- 
nor tp., to which his son and heir, John Morgan, succeeded 
1702. 

By purchase, he greatly increased his holdings in Merion, 
originally only 16V2 acres, which he had by deed, dated 1 
April, 1682, recorded 13. 4. 1684, Witnessed by John Lloyd, 
Reece Evan, Griffith Evan, Robert Lloyd and William John. 
He bought by deeds, dated 18. 4mo. 1694, the Merion land, 
IGYz acres, of Rees John William, of "Rees Joans," and the 
761/i acres which John Williams had from his father. Wil- 
liam John, an original purchaser of Thomas & Jones, which 
lands lay on both sides of his, which was backed by the pur- 
chase of Gainor Robert, so he now had, by survey of 1701, 
2231/^ acres in Merion, fronting on the river. And, by deed 
of conveyance, dated 19 Jan. 1707-8, he acquired 92 acres of 
land, from Hugh John Thomas, or "Hugh Jones," adjoining 
his last purchase, and this gave him 2,178, or more, feet on 
the river, near Roberts's "Pencoyd." By deed, 30 May 1709, 
he sold his last purchases, namely, 223 acres and 92 acres, to 
Robert Evans, and subsequently it became part of the "Rob- 
erts Estate." 

The will of "Gadder Morgan, of Merion," signed 10 Sep. 
1711, in the presence of Robert Roberts, Moses Roberts,* 



•Moses Roberts was one of the children of Robert Ellis, who, with 
his wife, Ellin, and seven children, removed here in 1690, bringing 
their certificate from the Quarterly Meeting held at Tyddyn y Gareg, 

[100] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

and Thomas Jones, was proved 10 Oct. 1711. Executors, 
sons-in-law Robert Evan and Abel Thomas. Names brother 
John Morgan (of Radnor), son-in-law Hugh Evans, Cad-^ 
walader, second son of son-in-law Robert Evan (of Gwy- ■^ 
nedd) ; Sarah, wife of Robert Evan; Elizabeth, daughter of 
son-in-law Abel Thomas; sister-in-law Elizabeth, wife of 
brother Lewis Morgan, and her child, not named. Ap- 
pointed as overseers, Edward Jones, John Roberts, David 
Jones (of Blockley), and Thomas Jones. 

Cadwalader Morgan married Jane, who d. before 1711, 
daughter of Richard Gryffyth (ap Rhys, or Rees, and Frees, 
or Price), of Llanfawr, Merioneth, who was of Royal De- 
scent, and a sister of Rees Jones's wife, of Merion, and to 
Edward Price, of Merion, and had two sons and three 
daughters by her, w^ho is recorded at the Merion Meeting aa 
buried 7. 19. 1710, "Jane wife of Chadwalader Morgan," 
namely : 

Morgan Cadwalader, b. 23. 6mo. 1679. He was a minister 
among Friends, and died young, and unmarried. 

Edioard Cadwalader, b. 22. 6mo. 1682. He died unmar- 
ried, before his father. 

Sarah, m. Robert Evan, or Evans, of Gwynedd. Issue. 

Daughter, m. Hugh Evan, or Evans, of Gwynedd. 

Daughter, m. Abel Thomas, of Merion. Issue. The ■fol- 
lowing entry at the Merion Meeting, 12. 23. 1807: Burial, 



in Merionethshire, dated 5mo. 28. 1690. Their children named "Rob- 
erts" were Abel (m. Mary Price), Moses, Ellis, Aaron (m. Sarah 
Longworthy), Evan, Rachel, Jane, Mary, and Gainor. The will of 
Moses Roberts, of Merion, signed 16. 12. 1715-6, witnessed by John 
Roberts and David George, was proved 28 Feb. same year. He ap- 
points brother Ellis Roberts, and friend Robert Roberts, executors. 
Names brothers Aaron, Evan, and Ellis, and sisters Jane, Rachel, 
Mary, and Gainor Roberts, nieces Katherine and Rachel Roberts, and 
Margaret Edwards, Elizabeth Roberts, Sarah Dickinson, Jane, daugh- 
ter of Abel Thomas, John Kelly, and Thomas Bowen. 

[107] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"Jacob Thomas, son of Abel, with the waggon Load of Stone 
run over his head." 

Hugh John ap Thomas, Hugh John or Hugh Jones, was 
living at Nantlleidiog, in Llanvawr parish, Merioneth, and 
was a widower and a farmer and miller, when he bought 
15614 acres of land, deed dated 18 March, 1681, through 
Thomas & Jones, and decided to remove to it, and came over 
with Hugh Roberts's party, in 1683. 

He lived several years on his Merion land, 7614 acres, 
(the balance of his purchase being laid out in Goshen tp.), 
which on resurvey on order from the Commissioners, 
amounted to 92 acres. He paid for and retained the increased 
acreage, having patent for it, dated 8 Nov. 1703. 

By deed, dated 19 Jan. 1707-8, he conveyed his Merion 
tract to Cadwalader Morgan, whose property then ad- 
joined his, and his holdings in Goshen to John Roberts, of 
"Pencoid," and removed to the Welsh settlement at Ply- 
mouth, where he died in 1727, having had four wives. 

He m. secondly, at the Merion Meeting, 16. 5mo. 1686, 
Margaret David, and m. thirdly, at the Radnor Meeting, 18. 
llmo. 1693, and m. fourthly, at the Merion Meeting, 22. 
9mo. 1703, Margaret Edwards. It is said that he had issue, 
and that one of his daughters married after his last mar- 
riage, and before 1708, Rowland Richard. 



[108] 



MERION ADVENTURERS 

"John ap. Thomas, of Llaithgwm, Commott of Penllyn, 
in the County of Merioneth, gentleman," as contemporary 
manuscripts designated him, was a forefather of the Merion 
Meeting, and a partner in this, the first, and most notable, 
company of Welsh Friends that removed to the Welsh Tract, 
though not destined himself to come over. 

He was a son of Thomas ap Hugh (ap Evan Rhys-Gocli), 
a gentleman farmer, or country gentleman, of Wern Fawr, 
in Llandderfel parish, Merioneth, whose will was proved at 
St. Asaph registry, in 1682. His brothers and sisters were, 
Cadwalader Thomas, (mentioned in the will of John Thom- 
as), who resided on a farm at Kiltalgarth, in Merioneth, 
and died before his father, and whose wife was a sister of 
Robert Owen, who became one of the most prominent res- 
idents of "Merion in the Welsh Tract," one of their sons, 
John Cadwalader. mentioned in the will of his uncle, John 
Thomas , was the founder of the well known family of Cad- 
walader, of Philadelphia and Trenton], Hugh Thomas, of 
Penllyn; Catherine, wife of Gawen Vaughn, of Hendre 
Mawr, and Elizabeth, wife of Maurice ap Edward, of Cae 
Mor. 

John ap Thomas was of notable ancestry, according to 
his pedigree, complied before 1682, which is extant. The 
late Dr. Levick, of Philadelphia, owned this MS pedigree,* 
and reproduced it in full in the Pa. Mag. vol. IV. p. 471, but 
as it is a very extended one, in fact, showing the lineal de- 
scent of John ap Thomas from Noah, space for only the last 
seventeen generations can be given here, which runs : "John 



*Now in the possession of Lewis J. Levick, Esqr., and loaned by 
him to the Historical Society of Pensylvania (July, 1910). 

[109] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Thomas, of Llaithgwm, in the County of Merioneth, Gent., 
1682|Thomas ap Hugh|Hugh ap Evan (of Wern Fawr)] 
Evan ap Rees G6ch|Rees Goch ap Tyder|Tudor|Evan 
and county of Denbig|Evan ddu| David ap EiynionjEiy-r 
nion ap Kynrig|Kynrig ap Llowarch|HeiIinlTyfid|Tagno| 
Ysdrwyth|Marchwysst|Marchw^eithian, one of the 15en 
tribes of North Wales, and Lord of Issallet," ap Llud, ap 
Lien, &c, &c. This Marchweileian, "who beareth guwls a 
Lyon Rampant Argent, Armed Langued Azure," was the 
eleventh of the fifteen tribes of North Wales (see "Cam- 
brian Register," 1795, p. 151), who held their lands by Bar- 
on's service. He was called Lord of Is-Aled, and owned, or 
controlled many townships, about A. D. 720. 

He was convinced by the Quaker apostle, John ap John, 
of the truth of the teachings of Fox, "God's Truths," and 
became a member of the religious Society of Friends, in 
1672, and from then till his untimely death, he was a leader 
and minister amongst Welsh Friends. Hugh Roberts, his 
life-long friend and neighbor, in an extant sketch of him, 
tells of his conversion, "though it was a time of great suf- 
fering" among the Friends in Wales for being non-conform- 
ists. 

The members of the Society were beset on every side by 
paid spies of the "established church," and informers work- 
ing "on commission," so it could be expected that this prom- 
inent gentleman farmer of the neighborhood would be close- 
ly watched, and Mr. Roberts records: "The first two 
meetings he was at, he was fined fifteen pounds [by a mag- 
istrate, and refusing to pay] the informer took from him 
two oxen, and a horse that was valued to be worth eleven 
pounds, and returned nothing back!" "The appearance of 
Truth was so precious to him," continues Mr. Roberts, "that 
he did not only make profession of it, but was also made 
willing to suffer for its sake, which he did valiantly." This, 
however, could be said of Mr. Roberts, himself, and of al- 
most every man and woman who fled finally from persecu- 

[110] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

tion to the Welsh Tracts in Pensylvania. "When this faith- 
ful man first came among us [in Wales], it was the hottest 
time of persecution that we ever underwent." 

So active were informers working for percentage of 
the fines imposed, that the resourceful John Thomas, re- 
cords Mr. Roberts, went to one of the county justices, "that 
was moderate," with strong indorsements, and got the ap- 
pointment for himself to be the high constable for his dis- 
trict, the position being vacant. 

It seems that the procedure against Quakers was for the 
spy, or informer, to find an alleged culprit, one who did 
not attend the services of the Established Church, after 
warning; one who declined to contribute towards the sup- 
port of that church and its minister, upon assessment; for 
attending meetings of Quakers ; having such meetings held 
in their homes, and a long list of more petty complaints, 
Eware out a warrant against him before a committing mag- 
istrate, which would follow its usual course, be delivered to 
the high sheriff, who would issue an order to the county 
jailor to receive and take charge of the prisoner, arrested 
and brought in by the high constable. 

There has been preserved among the papers of John 
Thomas one of the sheriff's orders to the jailor, and it is 
possible that it is one of those that came into John's hands 
when he was high constable, and which he "pigeon-holed." 

"Merioneth, SS. 

"To Lewis Morris, Keeper of his Majts goale for ye sd 
County, & to Richard Price and Joseph Hughes. 

"Whereas, I have apprehended Cadwalader ap Thomas ap 
Hugh, Robert Owen, Hugh ap Robert, John David, John 
Robert David, & Jonett John, spinster. 

"By virtue of his Ma'ties writt, issued out of the last 
great sessions, & unto me directed & delivered, I therefore 
do will and require you to receive into your custody the 
bodyes of the said Caddw'r ap Tho ap Hugh, Robert Owen, 
Hugh Roberts, Jo Robert David & Jonett John, and them 

[111] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

safely to convey to the common geole of the sd County and 
them in a safe manner to be kept in ye sd geole whom I doe 
hereby commit, there to remain for the next great sessions 
to be held for ye sd county on Monday of ye sd sessions, then 
and there to answer such matters as shall be objected 
against them on his Ma'ties behalfe, this omitt you not at 
yr perill, given under my hand & seal of office, the fourth 
day of May, Anno R. Caroli (di) Anghas & vicessimo sexto, 
Annoq dom 1674. 

"Owen Wynne, Esq. Sheriff." 

These apprehended Quakers were relatives and neighbors 
of John ap Thomas — one was his brother — so it may be im- 
agined he did not carry out the order. It seems that in John 
Thomas's neighborhood, the most diligent of the inform- 
ers, "a cunning, subtle man," was also an applicant for the 
position John captured,* and it v/as very evident to him 
why John sought it, and was glad to get it, so he set out to 
defeat him and have him impeached, in the following way, 
as told by Mr. Roberts: 

"So the informer went on, and informed against Friends, 
and when he got a warrant, he brought it to the high con- 
stable, according to his orders" [from the magistrate], and 
John Thomas thereupon would tell him "to go about his bus- 
iness, that he was responsible for them" [the warrants]. 
So John simply pocketed the warrants, and did nothing. 
This was just as the informer hoped, for he knew that John 
was violating the Act of Parliament, and his office, and put- 
ting himself in the position to be heavily fined for every 
neglect. John certainly took great chances, for the inform- 
er had nine good cases against him, when fortunately "the 
King's Declaration came to put a stop to these vdcked in- 



♦Among the papers of John Thomas is a letter, written about 1681, 
addressed to Richard Davies (one of the adventurers for Penn's land), 
by John ap David, a Friend, mentioned in the Sheriff's order, who 
also got the appointment of high constable to protect his brethren. 
It tells of the seizure of the chattels of Robert Evan. 

[112] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

formers," says Mr. Roberts. "Thus this faithful and val- 
iant man hazarded his own estate to save his friends and 
brethren." 

John Thomas wrote out, his notes still extant, many in- 
stances of his persecution and teasing, and those of his 
neighbors, wherein he tells of burdensome fines on the 
slightest provocations, and of scandalous tithing assess- 
ments and collections, all similiar to those related of others 
in Besse's "Sufferings of Friends." Probably the most dis- 
graceful proceeding in John's experience was when the 
parish priest of the Established Church came one day to col- 
lect John's contribution towards his salary and support of 
the parish church. John's Mem., 

"In the year 1674, about the 20th day of the 4th month, 
Harry Parry, parson of Llantherv'ol, he and his men came 
to the ground of John ap Thomas, and demanded lambes 
tithes; and when the said John ap Thomas was not free to 
give him tithes, he sent his men abroad to hunt for the 
lambs, and at length they found them in one end of the 
barn, where they used to be every night, and they took out 
the best five out of 21 for tithes. And for the tithe corn, they 
took of the corn I cannot tell how much." John, like many 
Friends of the days of persecution, made memoranda of 
raids on his property, hoping a time would come when they 
could submit them, and be reimbursed. 

Another interesting paper that has been preserved with 
the papers * of John ap Thomas, and which probably came 
into his hands when he was the high constable, is dated 20 
May, 1675, and signed by Humphrey Hughes and John 
Wynne, justices of the peace, and addressed "To the high 
and pettie Constables" of Merionethshire, and to the church 
wardens, and the overseers of the poor in every parish in 
that county. It is the formal announcement, on informa- 



*Nearly all of Mr. Thomas's papers are (1910) in possession of 
Mr. Lewis Jones Levick, of Bala, Pa. 

[11.3] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

tion from Owen David and Thomas John, of Penmaen, in 
Llanfawr parish, that certain persons in the county have 
met together on 16 May, "under colour of pretence of Re- 
ligion," against the laws of the realm, "in a house called 
by the name of Ilwyn y Branar, in Penmaen, and orders 
distraints to be made against them. John ap Thomas is 
named in the list. 

Volumes have been published telling of the persecutions 
of the Friends, yet the following letter, found among John 
Thomas' papers,** is interesting in that years after the 
aforesaid times, the Quakers were still being persecuted. 
And it was written just at the time the Welsh Friends were 
arranging to buy land from Penn, and remove to it. 

"Dolgelley, ye 25th of the 4th mo., 1681. 
"My dear friend John ap Thomas: 

"These in haste may let thee understand that the persons 
undernamed are outlawed, and the Deputy Sheriife hath 
writts against them. 

"Many of them are dead, those that are alive (I) wish 
them to look to themselves, untill such time as friends shall 
come together to confer in their behalfe, that soe friends in 
their liberty may order some considerable gratuity to the 
Deputy Sheriife for his kindness. 

"Beside those undernamed, Elizabeth Williams is partic- 
ularly to look to herself. There is a writt out of the Ex- 
chequer against her, as the Deputy Sheriffe informs me. 

"Ye names are as f olloweth, vizt. : 

William Frees, de Landei-vol. 

Thomas ap Edward, de Llanvawr. 

Litter Thomas, de eadem. 

Thomas Williams, de ead. 

John Davie, de ead. 

Elizabeth Thomas, de ead, widdow. 

Lodovicus ap Robt., de ead. 



**rnherited by Mr. Lewis J. Levick and now in his possession. 

[114] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

Thomas ap Edward, de Llanvawr, Thomas Williams, de 

ead. 

Robt. John Evan, de ead. 

Griffith John, de Gwerevol, and Elizabeth his wife. 

Hugh Griffith, of the same, & Mary his wife. 

Maurice Humphrey Morgan, of the same. 

This is att present from thy dear friend and desires to 
Excuse my brevity. Lewis Owen." 

This letter shows that the persecuted and outlawed 
Friends had at least one official interested in their welfare. 
The suggestion that the deputy sheriff be tipped to hold up 
the writs, has a modern look about it, yet it was a kindly 
meant suggestion. 

Lewis Owen was a member of the Dolgelly Quarterly 
Meeting, Merionethshire, 2mo. 1684, with Rowland Ov/en, 
Humphrey Owen, Rowland Ellis, Ellin Ellis, Owen I^ewis, 
Owen Humphrey, Hugh Rees, Reece Evan, Richard Jones, 
David Jones, Ellis Davies, Ellis Moris, John William, Kath- 
rine Price, Jane Robert and Agnes Hugh. 

"Elizabeth Williams is particularly to look to herself!" 
This most active preacher among Friends. V/hat a terrible 
experience hers had been for a half century, and still she 
had "to look to herself"; stop getting up meetings and ex- 
horting, else she would have to undergo further punish- 
ments, and this when she was nearly eighty years old. 
Nearly thirty years before this last warning, Elizabeth, 
when 50 years old, with the almost equally celebrated min- 
ister, Mary Fisher, nearlj^ escaped execution of some sort 
in Cambridge, in 1653. Besse, the Quaker annalist, records 
that "the mayor ordered them to be whipped till the blood 
ran down their bodies, * * * * which was done far more 
cruelly than with worse malefactors, so that their flesh was 
miserably torn." They were then driven out of the city. 

It has already been told that John ap Thomas was one of 
the party of Welsh Friends that went to London to inter- 
view William Penn, about the land in America, he was of- 

[115] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

fering for sale. There is a letter extant, among- his papers, 
from him to his wife, dated London, 28. 3mo. 1681, telling 
her that he is well, and that he arrived in London on 21st 
inst., "without any great diiSculty," accompanied by Thomas 
Ellis, with whom he intended to return home "the next sec- 
ond day," and concludes: 

"I lay it upon thee to mind my dear love to my friends, 
H. R. & his; Robt 0. & his; E. Jo. & his; R. D. & his; H. G. 
& his; G. J. & his; Elizabeth John & hers; Elizabeth Wyn 
and hers, with all the rest as if named them one by one. 

No more at present, but my dear love to thee, and soa I 

I am JOHN 
ap Thomas." 

At this time John ap Thomas and Edward Jones secured 
rights to 5,000 acres of Penn's Amei'ican land, and upon 
their return to Merioneth, after themselves subscribing for 
over 1,500 acres, they conveyed the balance among fifteen 
neighbors in Penllyn tp., as stated, the majority of whom 
removed to their purchases. 

It was undoubtedly the intention of John Thomas also 
to remove with his family to his American land, as he was 
greatly interested in the plan for a refuge for the perse- 
cuted Welsh Quakers, and was a shareholder in the Society 
of Free Traders of Pensylvania, but a little time before the 
date, in July, 1682, set for the first departure of Welsh 
Friends, his partner and relative. Dr. Jones, and compan- 
ions, he became too ill to travel, and never recovered. His 
old friend, Hugh Roberts, records the scenes of his death- 
bed, saying: "He took his leave of his friends, giving his 
hand to every one of us, and so in a sweet and heavenly 
praise, he departed the 3d day of 3mo. 1683." And of this 
event, his son, Thomas Jones, entered in the Family Bible, 
still preserved: "Our dear father, John ap Thomas, of 
Laithgwm, in the Commott of Penllyn, in the county of 
Merioneth, in North Wales, departed this life the 3d day 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

of 3d month, 1683, being the 5th day of the week, and was 
buryed at Friends burying place at Havod-vadog in the said 
Commott and County, ye 5th of ye said month." 

Although his health and strength was poor and failing, 
John Thomas looked forward to joining his friends in 
America, and to this end, "sent some effects [with them] 
and agreed with them to make some provision against his 
intended coming." This was certainly done, as John's 
portion of land was located on the Schuylkill, and in Goshen 
tp., the same as if he were present. In fact, there was an 
agreement, which is extant, signed by Edward Jones, per 
David Davies, while John Thomas was so ill, and before 
Dr. Jones sailed, saying: "And should John ap Thomas 
happen to die before ye said Edward Jones, that E. J. 
should take no benefit of survivorship," which probably re- 
ferred to partnership in goods for sale in Pensylvania, 
which Dr. Jones took with him. 

About four months after her husband's decease, "Kath- 
erine Robert," his relict, with her children, sailed from 
Chester, in the ship "Morning Star," for Philadelphia, with 
the parties of Hugh Roberts and John Bevan, and arrived 
16 Nov., 1683, "and found one-half of the purchase taken 
up in the place since called Merion, and some small im- 
provement made on the same where we then settled," as her 
son, Robert Jones, wrote to William Penn. 

In a sketch of John Thomas and his wife, by the late Dr. 
James J. Levick, of Philadelphia, (in the IV Vol., of the 
magazine of the Historical Society of Pensylvania), he 
says: "From all that is left on record, Katharine Thomas 
was a woman of great force of character and of much 
Christian worth. * * * Great as was the sacrifice, she 
does not seem to have hesitated to leave her comfortable 
home for the distant and wild lands beyond the sea." 

The certificate she brought from the Friends' Penllyn 
Monthly Meeting, of which she had been a member for ten 
years, dated 18. 5mo. 1683, was most flattering, and among 

[117] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

others, bore the signatures of Robert Owen, Richard Price, 
Cadwalader Lewis and Edward Griffith. 

Among the "Thomas Papers" there are letters from Rob- 
ert Vaughan, "a learned man," to his "loving aunt," Kath- 
arine Thomas, — one written in 3mo. 1687, and a letter 
from her "loving nephew,'' Edward Maurice, dated "Eyton 
Parke, Denbigshire, 3 Sep. 1692," mentioning her kin, the 
Tales, of Plas yn Yale, and other "County Families"' of 
Wales, all suggesting that Katharine was of gentle birth 
and refined breeding, which is borne out by Friends' en- 
dorsements, and the accounts of these families in Nicholas's 
"Annals and Antiquities of the County Families of Wales." 

Many of the Welsh Friends, bound for Merion, came over 
on this voyage of the "Morning Star," as told before. Kath- 
arine's immediate party, her children and servants, num- 
bered twenty. It was a long voyage, even at that time, and 
only the strongest survived it. Two of Katharine's chil- 
dren died and were buried at sea, namely, daughters Syd- 
ney, on 29. 7mo. and Mary, on 18. 8mo. as recorded in the 
Bible* of Thomas Jones, one of Katharine's sons. 

As "some provision against" Katharine's coming had been 
made on her husband's land, her son records they went 
there at once, after landing, the place being called, he says, 
"Geilli yr Cochiaid," or "Grove of Red Partridges." 

The "provision" was only a log cabin, and here the family 
resided till a small stone house was erected on another prop- 
erty she bought. Both of these remained till recently as 
landmarks near the village of Bala, on the property of 
Walter Jones. Her property here, as surveyed in 1684, 
was 612 acres of timber land, and was the furtherest lo- 
cated up the Schuylkill of the purchases through her hus- 
band and Dr. Jones, and extended back to north of the 
present village of Narberth. Adjoining her was her old 



*Th!s Bible, with its family data, has been presented to the His- 
torical Society of Pensylvania by Lewis Jones Levick, Esqr. 

[118] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

friend, Hugh Roberts, who, with his family, had also, as 
said, come over in this voyage of the "Morning Star." 

We can imagine Katharine Thomas to have been of good 
business acumen, as after getting her 612 acres here into 
working order, and made crop-yielding, she purchased the 
following summer 150 acres on the liver, between the lands 
of Barnabas Wilcox and Joseph Harrison, adjoining her 
husband's land, on which there was "a dwelling house lately 
erected." On 10 Dec. 1689, took title for a tract of 500 acres 
north of her first land, on the river, called "Glanrason," 
from Joseph Wood, (son of William Wood, the first grantee, 
30. 7mo. 1684), and adjoining the 500 acre tract, next 
above on the river of William Sharlow, called "Mount Ara- 
rat." * Besides these lands on the river, Katharine also had 
a tract in Goshen tp., on Chester Creek, being the balance 
of her husband's purchase for £25, and lots in the "city" and 
a questionable share of the "liberty land" which went with 
the original purchase. 

About six years after their mother's death, the sons had 
all of her land that remained to them, surveyed, and it 
amounted to 679 acres in Merion, and 635 acres in Goshen, 
for the whole they received a patent dated 3. llmo. 1703, 
The Merion land, in a general way, lay north of the town of 
Narberth, extending from Montgomery Ave. (the old Lan- 
caster Road) to the river, and, from the Price property, 
west of and near the Merion Meeting House, westward to 
"St. Mary's" (the Wister, or Chichester property). East 
of the Ardmore toll-gate, on Montgomery Ave. A part of 
this Merion tract is still (1910) owned by descendants. 

After coming over, Katharine, as executrix to her hus- 
band, had his will, a long one, dated 9 Feb., 1682, filed in 
Philadelphia, 10. 3mo. 1688. It was signed in the presence 
of Robert Vaughan, Rowland Owen and Thomas Vaughan, 

* Shadow's land was wrongly placed on Holme's Map. It was 
beyond Wood's property. 

[119] 



V/ELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

He desired his tract of 1,250 acres (mentioning the trans- 
action between Penn, Dr. Jones and himself) , to be divided 
equally between his four sons, and left £20 cash to each 
of his children, providing, of course, for his wife. He named 
as his overseers, John ap John, of Rhiwabon, or Ruabon, 
parish, Denbig; Thomas Ellis, of Cyfanedd, Merioneth; 
Thomas Wayne, "late of Bronvadog," Flintshire; Robert 
David, of Gwernevel, Merioneth; Hugh Roberts, of Kiltal- 
garth, Merioneth; Edward Jones, "late of Bala, Chirur- 
gion"; Robert Vaughan, of Gwernevel; Edward Morris, of 
Lavodgyfaner, Denbig; Robert Owen, of Fron Goch, and 
"my son-in-law, Rees Evans, of Fronween," Merioneth. 

Katharine Thomas lived fourteen years in "New Merion" 
among her Welsh friends, and was a regular attendant of 
the Merion Meeting, her death being thus entered in her 
son's, Thomas Jones's, Bible: "Our dear Mother Katherin 
Thomas departed this Life ye 18th day of ye 11 month, 
1697, about ye 2d or 3d hour in ye morning (as we thought), 
& she was buryed next day." Her will, not recorded, dated 
7. llmo. 1697, is mentioned in a deed, executed by her sons 
—Book G; v., pa. 496. 

Her son Evan died unmarried a month after she died, in 
Feb. 1697, leaving a small money gift to the Merion Pre- 
parative Meeting. 

Of her remaining children, who took "Jones'" as their 
surname : 

Thomas Jones, eldest son, was "through school" when 
he came over with his mother, and there is evidence that 
his education was a good one. He wrote a remarkably 
strong, clear hand, and kept a log of the voyage to America 
on the blank leaves of the Family Bible, and records of his 
kin. In 1709, he acted as clerk of the Haverford Monthly 
Meeting of ministers and elders, and was also their treas- 
urer. He became an "approved minister" among the 
Friends, and was popular in his neighborhood as a guar- 
dian, and overseer. 

[120] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

He joined Dr. Jones, his father's co-trustee in the Pen- 
sylvania land, in conveying by deed, dated 27. 10. 1693, the 
100 acres of liberty land due on account of their entire pur- 
chase, to William ap Edward. 

He died 6. 8mo. 1727, at his home in Merion. His will, 
signed 31. 6. 1727, witnessed by Thomas Moore, Richard 
George and Robert Jones, trustees-"Cousins Robert Jones 
and Jonathan Jones," was proved on 5 Aug. 1728. He be- 
queathed lands in Merion adjoining Jonathan Jones, Sr., 
and in Goshen tp. 

He married Anne, named in his will, daughter of Grif- 
fith ap John, or Jones, of Merion (a son of John ap Evan, 
of Penllyn, "old Merion," and a cousin of Robert Owen, of 
"New Merion"), who owned a 187 acre place northeast of 
Bala, Philadelphia County, and whose sons, John and Evan, 
and their descendants took the name "Griffith." 

Thomas and Anne Jones had besides John and Catherine, 
both buried at Merion Meeting in 1706, Evan, Elizabeth, 
Ann, Mary, Sarah, who m. at Merion Meeting 8. llmo. 
1742, Jonathan Jones, (son of Jonathan Jones, and grand- 
son of Dr. Edward Jones) , and Katharine, who m. Lewis, 
son of David and Katharine Jones, aforesaid, of Blockley, 
Philadelphia County. 

Robert Jones, named in his brother's will, second son of 
John ap Thomas, inherited the plantation called "Glanra- 
son," 189 acres, and purchased from David Hugh, 20. 4. 
1699, 150 acres (surveyed), 165 acres of Sharlow's "Mt. 
Ararat," confirmation deed, 12 Feb. 1704, and at one time 
owned 1,000 acres in Merion, and 426 acres in Goshen. "He 
was a useful member of both civil and religious society," 
having been a justice of the peace, and a member of the 
provincial assembly. He was buried at the Merion Meeting 
House. 

He married 3. llmo. 1693, at his mother's house, Ellen 
Jones, sister to David Jones, of Blockley tp., who with his 
wife, Katharine, had certificate from the Monthly Meeting 

[121] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

at Hendrimawr, Wales, dated 24. 12mo. 1699, signed by- 
Robert Vaughan, Ellis Lewis and Thomas Cadwalader. 

Robert's will was dated 21. 7mo. 1746. Of the children 
of Robert Jones : Gerrad, eldest son, b. 28. 12, 1705-6 ; in- 
herited "Glanrason," [he m. first, Sarah, daughter of 
Robert Lloyd and his wife, Lowry, daughter of Rees John 
William, of Merion, and m. secondly, Ann, (daughter of 
Benjamin Humphrey, of Merion?) and had eight children, 
of these Ellen, m. Robert Roberts and Isaac Lewis, and 
Paul, m. Phoebe Roberts] ; Elizabeth, b. 1695, first child, 
Katherine, 6. 1700, m. Thomas Evans; Ann, 6. 1702, 7n. 
James Paul, of Abington tp., and Robert, b. 3. 6mo. 1709, 
who received land from his father. 

Cadivalader Jones was a shipping merchant in Phila- 
delphia. The Land Commissioners on 23 Feb. 1702, granted 
him and his brother Thomas, executors to their mother's 
will, power to take up 100 acres of land (being part of 200 
acres sold by the Commissioners to Hugh Roberts "for their 
mother's use"), which they had laid out in Merion tp., in 
llmo. 1712-13, adjoining the lands of Mordecai Moore, 
John Havid (Havard), James Atkinson, and Owen Roberts. 

Cadwalader, and his brothers, Thomas Jones, procured 
grant and survey of a 34 foot lot in 2d street, and a 20 foot 
lot in 3d street, in place of one "whole lot" of 51 feet, in 2d 
street, "of which they have been disappointed." 

Katherine Jones m. Robert Roberts, son of Hugh Rob- 
erts, of Merion, the eminent minister among Friends, and 
next neighbor to Katharine Thomas. 

Elizabeth Jones, m. before 1662, Rees Evan, of Fon- 
ween, in Penmaen, Penllyn, Merioneth. Their son, Evan 
Rees, came to Pensylvania and his daughter Sydney m. Rob- 
ert Roberts, of "Pencoyd," Merion. 

John Thomas had reserved to himself 1,250 acres, of 
which 1,225 were in the City Liberties, and 6I21/2 acres in 
Merion, and the same number in Goshen. On re-survey, 
it was discovered that his Merion tract contained 679 acres, 

[122] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

while that in Goshen came out right. On 19. 2mo. 1703, the 
Land Commissioners confirmed the land to the brothers, 
Thomas, Robert, and Cadwalader Jones, the joint heirs un- 
der their father's will. It may be noticed all through these 
notices of Welsh families, that primogeniture was not the 
custom amongst them. Equal division of the land was 
made between the sons, and possession given without livery 
of seizine, that is, immediately. Since it was the practice 
to divide the land amongst the heirs, especially the improved 
parts, which they had helped to till, small farms prevailed, 
and they also became more numerous because they were 
easier worked. 



[123] 




A SECTION FROM HOLME'S MAP. 



MERION ADVENTURERS 

Gainor Roberts, a spinster, was aboui 30 years old, a 
daughter of Robert ap Hugh, or Pugh, of Llyndeddwydd, 
near Bala, in Merioneth, (by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of 
William Owen, of Llanvawr), and a sister of the Friends' 
minister, Hugh Roberts, when she bought on her own ac- 
count 15614 acres of the Thomas & Jones tract, and came 
over to Pensylvania with her celebrated brother, with whom 
she lived in Kiltalgarth, on the ship "Morning Star," in 
1683. Part of her purchase, 76 14 acres, was laid out in 
Merion, back of Calwalader Morgan's land, and the reman- 
der in Goshen tp., and these lands she took to her husband 
as a marriage portion. 

She m. at Merion Meeting, 20. Irao. 1683-4, whether in 
the traditional log Meeting House, the predecessor of the 
present stone one, or at her brother's home, is not known, 
John Roberts, who came over also on this trip of the "Morn- 
ing Star." She d. 20. 12mo. 1722, aged 69 years, and was 
buried with her husband at the Merion Meeting House. 

They were the founders of the Roberts family of "Pen- 
coyd," Merion, and theirs was the first marriage in the 
Welsh tract of record. 

John Roberts, of "Pencoyd," though not one of the orig- 
inal purchasers in Thomas & Jones tract, should be noticed 
here, with the other first settlers of this land, as he was the 
earliest of Welsh purchasers of the adjoining land, on the 
river, and became a noted man in the settlement. 

In the days of this John there were three, or more, men 
in the Welsh tract named "John Roberts," and, to distinguish 
them from the subject of this sketch, their occupation or 
place of residence, was given with their names in early 
deeds, as later there was "John Roberts, Skuilkill," buried 

[125] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

at Merion Meeting 7. 28. 1747, and "John Roberts, mill- 
wright," buried here 11. 10. 1803. 

John Roberts, of "Pencoyd," as he named his seat, and 
as it is still called, born about 1648, was the son of Richard 
Robert (ap Thomas Morris), of Cowyn, Llaneingan parish, 
in Carnarvonshire, and his wife, Margaret, daughter of 
Richard Evan, of the same parish. He was about 29 years 
of age when he became a Quaker, in 1677. John Roberts's 
account of himself, filed with the Merion Meeting: 

"John Roberts, formerly of Lljm, being son of Richard 
Roberts and grandson of Robert Thomas Morris, who hve'd 
at Cowyn, in the Parish of Llaneigan and County of Car- 
narvon; my mother being Margaret Evans, daughter of 
Richard Evans, of Llangian and county aforesaid. 

"Being convinced of God's everlasting worth about the 
year one thousand six hundred and seventy seven, not by 
man nor through man, but by the Revelation of Jesus 
Christ, in my owne heart, Being about thirty miles from 
any Friends' Meeting in that time when I was convinced but 
coming into acquaintance with Friends near Dalgelle and 
near Bala in Merionethshire, I frequented their Meetings 
while I abode in those parts, but by the Province of God in 
the. year One thousand six hundred and eighty three, I 
transported Myself with many of my Friends for Pensyl- 
vania where I and they arrived the sixteenth day of the 
Ninth month One thousand six hundred and Eighty three 
being then Thirty five years old, and settled myself in the 
place v;^here afterwards I called Pwencoid, in the Township 
of Merion, which was afterwards called by them being the 
first settlers of it, having brought with me one servant man 
from my Native Land, and fixed my settling here. I took 
to Wife Gainor Roberts, Daughter of Robert Pugh from 
Llwyndedwydd near Bala in Merionethshire, her Mother 
being Elizabeth William Owen one of the first that was con- 
vinced of the Truth in that Neighborhood. So leaving this 
account for our ofspring and others that desire to know 

[126] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

from whence we came and who we descend from and when 
we came to settle unto this place where we now abide being 
then a Wilderness, but now by God's Blessing upon our en- 
deavours is become a fruitful field. To God's name be the 
Praise, Honour and Glory who is worthy of it for ever and 
for ever more." 

As apparently Mr. Roberts had a good home, and had not 
"suffered" much, it must be supposed that he only came 
over to Pensylvania because his lady-love, Gainor Roberts, 
did. Theirs was probably a long drawn-out courtship, aa 
he was 35, as he states, and she 30, when they came over 
together, with her brother. 

He was living near Dolgelly, and near where Gainor 
lived, when he set out for America, taking with him only 
one indentured servant, and his certificate of membership 
from the Men's Meeting, in Penllyn, dated 18. 5mo; 1683, 
which described him as of Llun, in Carnarvonshire. On 
the same date this Meeting issued Certificates to many oth- 
ers bound for Pensylvania, among them Cadwalader Mor- 
gan, and Hugh John Thomas, of Gwernfell, Robert David, 
of Tuyn y nant, Katharine Roberts, of Llaethgwn, widow, 
and Gaynor Roberts, of Kiltalgarth. All were signed by 
nearly the same men. Both John and Gainor were members 
in good standing of the Penllyn Monthly Meeting, as may be 
seen. It is presumed that John's brother Richard and sister 
Ann, who came in the Hugh Roberts party, both had issue. 

John Roberts probably stayed close to Hugh Roberts and 
helped put up his house in Merion, in the winter of 1688-4, 
for in the early spring of 1683-4, he married Gainor Rob- 
ert. Theirs was the first wedding in the Merion Meeting. 

"John Roberts the maltster," as he was known from his 
occupation, had bought from Richard Davies (Company No. 
7), 150 acres by deed dated 30 July, 1682, and this right he 
had surveyed and laid out to him in "the city liberty" on the 
Schuylkill, and next east of the land of Evan Rees, in the 
Thomas & Jones tract. This land he named "Pencoyd," 

[127] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

which it has ever since been so called. With the land he 
had by Gainor, both in Merion and in Goshen, as the mar- 
riage portion, this gave him, "on paper," 3O6I/2 acres, but 
on resurvey, (by report of 12. 2mo. 1703) , it turned out that 
he had 108 acres in Merion, and 262 acres in Goshen, vs^hich 
was 25 acres too much in Merion, and 8V2 acres too much 
in Goshen, this over-plus he bought. And on resurvey of 
another parcel of 150 acres in Merion, this was found 20 
acres short, and a resurvey of 60 acres (which had been 
part of Swan Lum's grant of 400 acres, in 1677, he bought 
in 1699 of Andrew Wheeler, a Swede, in the "liberties," and 
Merion tp., "on the westerly side of the Schilckul by the 
falls," showed 47 acres over, and thus, between the over- 
plus and shortage, he had to pay for a balance of 60 Vi 
acres. 

John Roberts bought, by a joint deed dated 8. 6mo. 1702, 
the land due as head-rights for a lot of servants and others, 
who had come over about 1683-4, amounting altogether to 
750 acres, laid out at his first purchase, among the Swedes, 
which his son Robert inherited. By deed of 7. 7mo. 1687, he. 
bought from Cadwalader Morgan and Hugh John, 156 
acres, in Goshen tp., on Chester Creek. At one time, with 
his wife's lands, John Roberts owned about 1,250 acres. 

1704, llmo. 5th., according to desire of the Merion Pre- 
parative Meeting, extended to all its members, he filed "an 
account of his place of abode in his native country, his con- 
vincement, his removal to this country, his marriage, and 
other remarkable passages of his life." A copy of this state- 
ment is extant in the family of a descendant, and an ex- 
tract is given above. 

He was from the first a prominent man among the Pev.- 
sylvania Welsh, and was a justice of the peace in the Welsh 
Tract, and a representative for it in the Assembly, and 
owned a very large landed estate. He died at his residence 
in Merion, which now forms a portion of the "Roberts man- 
sion," on the City Line, on 6. 4mo. 1724, aged 76 years, and 

[128] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

was buried with his wife, Gainor, in the ground of the Mer- 
ion Meeting. The record of their burials at the Merion 
Meeting being "Gainor Roberts, wife of John Roberts, malt- 
ster, 12. 23. 1721," and "John Roberts, maltster, 1724, 4mo." 

His will, signed 3. 7mo. 1722, witnessed by Edward 
George, Gainor Jones, and Thomas Jones, was proved at 
Philadelphia, 31 Aug. 1724. He named "brother Richard and 
his daughter Margaret," his niece Margaret, daughter of 
his own sister Ann: grandsons John, Alban, Rees and Phin- 
eas. Overseers appointed — Robert Jones, Robert Evat'^, 
and Thomas Jones: Owen Roberts mentioned. He be- 
queathed five pounds to the trustees of the Merion Meet- 
ing, for relief of the poor of Merion Meeting, 

John Roberts, of "Pencoyd," had only two children, by 
his only wife, Gainor Roberts, who were named in his will„ 
namely : 

Elizabeth Roberts, b. 21. Imo. 1692, d. unm., 9. 7mo. 1746 
She received by her father's will £200, and half of his per- 
sonal estate. 

Robert Roberts, of "Pencoyd," first child, and only son 
and heir, 6. 15. 12mo. 1685. He inherited from his father^ 
the homestead and all his lands, and half of his personalty. 
He was a member of the Merion Peculiar Meeting, and the 
Haverford Monthly Meeting, and he and his wife were 
buried at the Merion Meeting House. He d. 17 March, 
1768, leaving a will signed when "antient and Infirm of 
Body," 4. 7mo, 1764, in the presence of Richard George, Jr., 
David Lloyd and John Roberts, Jr., proved at Philadelphia 
26 March, 1768. 

He m. at the Merion Meeting, on 17. 4mo. 1709, Sidney 
Rees, daughter of Rees Evan, of Penmaen, in Merioneth- 
shire (whose mother was a daughter of John ap Thomas, 
of Llaethgwm, who d. in 1683), and had by her, who d. 29 
June, 1764, aged 74 years, the following children named in 
his will: — 

[129] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

John Roberts, eldest son and heir, b. 26. 4mo. 1710, in- 
herited the homestead farm, about 180 acres, on the City 
Line, where he d. 31 Jan. 1776. It adjoined land of Robert 
_ Evans, on the north, John Griffith on the west, and south, 
"tp. line road to the Ford road," and land of Rudolph LatcH 
and John Garrett. His will, signed in Oct., 1775, in the 
presence of John Robert, miller, Rees Price, and Hugh Cul- 
ly, was proved 7 Feb. 1776. He named all of his children 
then living. To son Algernon, 50 acres in Blockley, bought 
of Joseph Abraham, south of the City Line, and north of 
lands of David George, and the homestead, then 100 acres, 
laying above and west of the "new road," and adjoining the 
lands of Thomas Norris, John Leacock, Jacob Bealer, and 
William Stadleman. To son Jonathan, 27 acres on the river, 
in Blockley, and money to sons Benjamin, John, Robert, and 
daughters Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Palmer, and Tacy, 
wife of John Palmer. Trustees, "loving brothers Owen 
Jones, Jacob Jones, and kinsman James Lewis Jones, Jr. 

He m. at Merion Meeting, on 4. 3mo. 1733, Rebecca, 
daughter of Jonathan Jones (son of Dr. Edward Jones), 
of Merion, and had twelve children by her, who d. 8 Dec, 
1779. His son Algernon also was the father of twelve chil- 
dren. 

Algernon Roberts, who was a lieut. col. of Philadelphia 
militia, lived and died at the old Roberts homestead. 
He m. at the Swedes Church, in Philadelphia, 18 Jan. 1781, 
Tacy, daughter of Isaac Warner, of Blockley, colonel of 
Philadelphia militia. Of their many children, John 1787- 
1837, was the ancestor of B. Frank Clapp, of Phila., Isaac, 
1789-1859, was the ancestor of the late George B. Roberts, 
who r-esided in the old homestead; Algernon Sidney, 1798- 
1865, was the ancestor of George T., Dr. A. Sidnej'- and 
Fercival Roberts, of Philadelphia, Edward, 1800-1872, was 
the ancestor of Edward Browning, and Mrs, Arthur V. 
Meigs, of Philadelphia. 

[130] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

Phineas Roberts, b. 13. 3mo. 1722. He inherited 30 acres 
on the river, adjoining the homestead that had been Wheel- 
er's land in Bleckley. His wife Ann, aged 80 years, was 
killed by their insane son, Titus Roberts, in llmo. 1803. 

Sidney Roberts, b. 9. 3mo. 1729 ; m. John Paul, who re- 
ceived a portion of the personalty of his father-in-law. 

Alban, 1712-1727; Reese, 1715-1755. 

"Rees John William, of Llanglynin," yeoman, or "Rees 
Joans," or Jones, was one of the seventeen original purchas- 
ers, by deed of 1 April, 1682, through Thomas & Jones, but 
he did not come over till in 1684, when the land on the river 
vi'as partly cleared and planted, and the "first come-overs," 
the parties of Dr. Jones, and Hugh Roberts, were well 
housed on their purchases. He found the land (his deed 
being recorded at Philadelphia 21. 4. 1684), allotted to him 
the worst proportioned in the tract, it being a narrow strip, 
only about Q6 feet on the river, extending the full length of 
the other lots, to the Charles Lloyd land, where it was only 
about 264 feet wide, in all, here, 761/2 acres, and remainder 
in Goshen tp. 

"Rees Jones," as he was generally known, was a son of 
John ap William, a farmer in Llangelynin parish, Merion- 
eth, who "suffered" considerable with the other Quakers in 
his neighborhood, 1661, &c. Rees came over with a large 
party of Welsh settlers in the ship "Vine, of Liverpool," 
sailing from Dolyserre, near Dolgules, in Merionethshire, 
which is a maritime county, and arrived at Philadelphia 
on 17. 7mo. 1684. He was accompanied by his wife and 
three children. 

His sister, "Margaret John William, of Llangyllynin, 
widow," had preceded him, coming over in the party of 
Hugh Roberts, bringing a certificate of membership from 
the Quarterly Meeting, near Dolgelly, dated 27. 5mo. 1683, 
recorded at the Haverford (or Radnor) Monthly Meeting. 
As Margaret John she had patent, 18. Imo. 1717-8, for 400 
acres of land on a branch of French Creek. 

[131] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVAKIA 

His brother, Evan John William, or Evan Jones, also 
came over at that time, with his son, Robert Jones (who 
resided at Gwynedd), and died soon after, being buried in 
the ground of the Merion Meeting, in llmo. 1683. He be- 
queathed some land in Goshen tp. to his nephews, Richard 
and Evan Jones. Evan Jones, and Hannah, his wife, and 
Mary Ellis, his mother-in-law, and Gemima, her other 
daughter, brought certificate, undated, from the Meeting 
held at Tyddier y Gareg, in Garthgunfawr, near Dolegelle, 
Merioneth, to the Haverford Monthly Meeting, signed by 
Humphrey, John, Robert, and Rowland Owen, Owen, Rob- 
ert, and Howell Lewis, and Hugh Rowland. 

Rees Jones, and his wife, Hannah, also brought the usual 
certificate of membership and removal, from the Quarterly 
Meeting, near Dolgelly, dated 4. 2mo. 1684. Rees was de- 
scribed as "of Llwyn Grevill, Glynn parish, Merioneth." 

Before coming over, he purchased, by deed dated 16 July, 
1684, the original right of Thomas ap Richard, or Prichard, 
of Nant Lleidiog, to his share 1561/4 acres, of the Thomas 
& Jones tract. The 76 V2 acres of which that lay in Merion 
adjoined the back part of Rees's land, and this gave him 
153 acres in Merion. The present settlement of Merion, or 
Merion Station, on Pensylvania Railroad, is on his land, and 
Rees's dwelling house was near it. By deed of 8. 4mo. 1694, 
he sold his 76 1/^ acres on the river end, or his original pur- 
chase, to his brother-in-law, Cadwalader Morgan, whose 
land adjoined. 

Rees Jones died 26. llmo. 1697-8, and was buried at the 
Merion Meeting House. His will, which he signed with his 
mark, dated 24. llmo. 1697-8, witnessed by Griffith John 
and Abel Thomas, was proved at Philadelphia, 4 March, 
1702-3. He named his sons, Richard, Evan, and John ; and 
overseers: Cadwalader Morgan, Abel Thomas, Edward 
Jones, Griffith John and John Roberts. 

He m. about 1678, Hannah Richards, or Price, b. in 1656, 
sister to Jane, wife of Cadwalader Morgan, of Merion, and 

[132] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 



to Edward Price, who came to Pensylvania before 1685-6, 
and daughter of Richard Gryffyth ap Rhys, or Prees, and 
Price, of Llanvawr, or Lanfor parish, in Merioneth, a mem- 
ber of the Friends' Penylln Monthly Meeting, near Bala, 
whose will, dated 26. llmo. 1685, was filed at St. Asaph reg- 
istry in 1686. His will describes him as of Glanlloidiogin, 
Llanfor parish. Witnesses were Edward Nicholas, Thomas 
ap Robert, Lowry v. Thomas Rees Evans, and Cadwalader 
Ellis. To Edward Prees, alias Price, (of Merion), eldest 
son; (after he came over here, he sent to Wales for "some 
intelligence of his Pedigree," which he received about 1700, 
and is extant) ; Jane, eldest daughter, wife of Cadwalader 
Morgan; daughter Hannah, wife of Rees John William; 
grandchildren William John, and Catherine John, children 
of John William ; and son Thomas ap Richard, the executor, 
who received all of the estate of his father. Thomas re- 
nounced the trust, when the Court gave the administration 
to Edward Nicholas, of Cynlas. 

After Rees's death, Hannah, his relict, m. secondly, at the 
Merion Meeting, on 22. 2mo. 1703, Ellis David, of Goshen 
tp., a widower, who was buried, s. p. 17. Imo. 1720, and m. 
thirdly, 14. Imo. 1722. Thomas Evans, of Gwynedd tp. 

Rees Jones,* had by his wife, Hannah Price, who was of 



*Among the present-day people, descendants of Rees John Wil- 



liam and Hannah Price, are: 
Frank Foulke. 
Samuel Marshall. 
Hugh Jones Brooke. 
Mrs. Charles Richardson. 
Mrs. George B. Roberts. 
Mrs. Henry K. Dillard. 
Miss Mary William Perot. 
Mrs. J. Howard Lewis, Jr. 
Mrs. Hunter Brooke. 
Mrs. George H. Colket. 
William T. Brooke. 
John W. Townsend. 



Mrs. Harrison K. Caner. ■ 
William P. Troth. 
Henry T. Coates. 
William M. Coates. 
Joseph H. Coates. 
George M. Coates. 
Edward H. Coates. 
Mrs. Charles Ridgway. 
Mrs. Henry S. Harper. 
Mrs. John R. Drexel. 
Mrs. Edward Y. Townsend. 
Henry Troth Townsend. 



[133] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Royal Descent, the following issue, besides Margaret, 6. 
20. 6. 1697, Edward, and Catharine, who d. unm. 

Richard Jones, b. about 1679. He came over with his 
parents, and according to the records, filed with the Merion 
Preparative Meeting, of which he was a member, an ac- 
count of their ancestry, and life in the Old Country, on 2. 
12mo. 1704-5. 

He inherited from his father the home-farm of about 100 
acres, which he increased to 15614 acres, and with some 
land he owned in Goshen, he had 293% acres altogether, in 
1703. By deed of 8 Nov. 1720, he bought of John Roberts 
(the nephew of Thomas Lloyd, of Llangower, one of the 
original purchasers through Thomas & Jones), 39V^ acres, 
adjoining his Merion land. 

By deed, dated 26 June, 1729, Richard Jones conveyed all 
of his Merion land, then 156i/i acres, to Hugh Evans, and 
removed to his land in Goshen tp. which he had increased 
by purchase. He and his brother, Evan Jones, bought there 
a tract of 15314. acres, which on resurvey was 178 acres. He 
d. aged 92 years, in Goshen tp., on 16. 7mo. 1771, hav.ng 
been twice married. He had three children by each wife. 
He m. first, 6. 4mo. 1705, Jane Evans, who d. 27. 2nio. 1711, 
and was buried at the Merion Meeting House, and w. sec- 
ondly, in 1718, Rebecca Vernon, widow of Thomas Garrett. 
She d. 23. 12mo. 1748. 

Lowry Jones, d. in Philadelphia, 25. llmo. 1762, aged 80 
years. She m. first, at Merion Meeting, 11. 8mo. 1698, Rob- 
ert ffloid, or Lloyd, who came over with Hugh Roberts, in 
1683, and bought land, some 400 acres, north of Rowland 
Ellis's seat, "Bryn Mawr," where he d. 29. 3mo. 1714, aged 
45 years and was buried at the Merion Meeting House, be- 
ing the father of eight children. Of these Hannah, 1699- 
1763, m. first, 1720, John Roberts, (son of John Roberts 
and Elizabeth Owen v. Owen Humphrey) ; d. 1721; Sarah, 

[134] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

1703-1730, m. 1729, at Merion Meeting, Garrad Jones, d. 
1765 ; Gainor, 1705-1728, m. 1727, at Merion Meeting, Mor- 
decai James, d. 1776; Rees, 1709-1753; Robert, 1711-1786; 
and Richard, 1713-1755. Lowry Jones m. secondly, at the 
Merion Meeting, 13. 12mo. 1716-7, Hugh Evans, and had 
three children by him. Of them Ann, m. 1745, (?Samuel 
Howell) ; Susanna m. 1740, Owen Jones, d. 1793. 

Evan Jones, b. about 1682-3. He and his brother John in- 
herited from their father ISS^^ acres of land in Goshen tp. 
on Chester Creek, which was resurveyed in pursuance of 
the order of 27. lOmo. 1701. He was also a partner with his 
brother Richard in some Goshen land. He never married, 
and was buried at the Merion Meeting, 7. 2mo. 1708. Hi3 
will, signed 28. 7. 1708, witnessed by Rowland Ellis, Richard 
Jones, and Robert Lloyd, was proved 1. 25. 1708 He men- 
tions his mother and brothers and sisters, Lowry Lloyd, 
Richard, John, Edward, Jane, Sarah and Margaret Jones; 
overseers, Cadwalader Morgan and Abel Thomas. 

Janne, or Jane Jones, b. in Merion, 15. Omo. 1635, d. 27. 

Bmo. 1764, and was buried at the Goshen Meeting. She m. 
David Davis, and had nine children by him, four of whom 
married into the Ashbridge family. 

John Jones, b. in Merion, 6. 4mo. 1688, d. in Goshen tp., 
30. 12mo. 1774. He m. at the Gwynedd Meeting, 9. 4mo. 
1713, Jane Edward, and had ten children. He and brother 
Evan shared the lands of their father. 

Sarah Jones, b. 25. 7mo. 1690, d. 28. 3mo. 1758. She m. 
first, at Merion Meeting, 2. 8mo. 1712, Jacob Edge, 1690- 

1720, and had four children, and m. secondly, 10. llmo. 

1721, Caleb Cowpland, d. at Chester, 1757, and had five 
children by him. 

Margaret Jones, b. 20. 6mo. 1697, vi. first, at Merion 
Meeting, 16. 10. 1716, Thomas Paschall (and had Margaret, 

[135] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

m. first, Samuel Mather, and Hannah, m. Isaac Roberts), m. 
secondly, 6. Imo. 1729, George Ashbridge, d. 1748. 

These following Welsh Friends, of Penllyn parish, Mer- 
ioneth, purchased portions of Thomas & Jones's 5,000 acres, 
but sold out, and did not come over. 

Evan ap Rees, or Evan Price, a grocer, of Penmaen, 
bought 312V^ acres of this tract, for £6. 5s., by deed dated 
18 March, 1681, recorded 13. 4. 1684, witnessed by John 
Lloyd, Griffith Evan, Reece Evan and William Jones. He 
did not come over, but his son, Rees Evan, did. 

By deeds dated 28. 5mo. 1683, Evan Rees conveyed away 
his Merion land, 1531/4 acres, (which on a resurvey 
amounted to 178 acres) as follows — 100 acres to Robert 
David, one of the original purchasers through Thomas & 
Jones, and about 54 acres to Griffith John (ap Evan), who 
also bought the Goshen portion. This Griffith Jones was a 
cousin of Jane Owen, Hugh Roberts's wife, and came over 
with them in 1683, and resided in Merion. He was one of 
the subscribing witnesses to Penn's "Conditions and Conces- 
sions to Adventurers for Land," 11 July 1681. His will, 
signed 26. 4. 1707, witnessed by John Roberts and Robert 
Jones, was proved 31 Jan. 1707-8, named his sons John and 
Evan, and son-in-law Thomas Jones, to be executors. Grif- 
fith John also bought from John Roberts (nephew of Thom- 
as Lloyd), 371/2 acres, and had patent for all, dated 8 Nov. 
1703. This land, surveyed 194 acres, lay along the old Lan- 
caster Road, and the City Line, and included, besides the 
land from Rees, 76% acres from each Thomas Lloyd and 
John Watkin. 

Thomas ap Richard, or Prichard, a farmer, of Nantllei- 
diog, bought 15614 acres of the tract, of which 7614 acres 
vv'ere laid out in Merion, and balance in Goshen tp. He did 
not come over. By deed, dated 16. 5mo. 1684, he conveyed 
all his lands to Rees John William, or Rees Jones, of Mer- 
ion. 

[136] 



COMPANY NUMBER ONE 

Thomas Lloyd, a yeoman, (son of John Lloyd), of Llan- 
gower, bought 1561/4 acres, of this tract, paying £3. 2. 6., 
but did not come to Pensylvania. It was his intention to 
come over, but he died suddenly, and by his will, bequeathed 
his land to his nephew, John Roberts, (his brother Robert 
Lloyd's son), who came over, and by deeds, conveyed of 
the part in Merion, the east end, SIV^ acres, to Griffith John 
(ap Evan) in 1700, and dated 8. 9mo. 1720, the west end, 
39 1/2 acres, to Richard Jones. 

John Roberts also had, with what he received from his 
uncle, and what he bought subsequently from Evan John 
William (a part of the Richard Davies tract) , 153 acres in 
Goshen tp. 

John Watkin, who was described as a bachelor, when he 
purchased, by deed of 1 April, 1682, witnessed by John 
Lloyd, Griffith Evan, Robert Lloyd and Reece Evan, of 
Thomas & Jones, 1561/4 acres, and a yeoman, of Gwernevel, 
or Gwernsfel, did not come over, but sold his land. By deed, 
dated 23. 4mo. 1684, he conveyed all of rights to land, to 
Hugh Roberts, who sold his Merion portion, 761/4 acres, by 
deed of 26. 5mo. 1688, to Abel Thomas (who married Cad- 
walader Morgan's daughter), which land was resurveyed 
and patented to said Abel, 16 Feb. 1701-2. 

This concludes the sketches of the original seventeen 
partners, purchasers through Thomas & Jones, of 5,000 
acres, 2,500 of which were at the Falls of the Schuylkill, and 
who had the land laid out to them in Merion, on and near 
the river. It may be seen that four were first settlers, in 
1682, one came over in 1682-3; seven were settlers in 1683, 
and one in 1684, and that four did not come over, but sold 
their land to the other original purchasers from Thomas & 
Jones. 

It is also worthy of notice that these early settlers were 
nearly all in some way related to each other. For instance, 
John Thomas's son married Griffith John's daughter, and a 

[137] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

daughter married a son of Hugh Roberts; Dr. Jones's sou 
married a daughter of Robert Owen ; Dr. Jones married Dr. 
WjTin's daughter; Hugh Robert's son married a daughter 
of John Bevan; Rees Jones married a sister of Cadwala- 
der Morgan's wife; William Edward married a sister of 
Hugh Roberts; Edward Rees was brother-in-law to Cad- 
walader Morgan and Rees Jones; John Roberts married a 
sister of Hugh Roberts; Robert Owen and Hugh Roberts 
were brothers-in-law; Robert Owen was a brother-in-law 
to Cadwalader Thomas; John Cadwalader was a nephew 
of John Thomas, and of Robert Owen, and a son-in-law of 
Dr. Jones ; both Rees Thomas and his wife were related to 
John Bevan, and his son married a daughter of Dr. Jones ; 
Hugh Roberts's first wife was sister to Robert Owen, and 
his son married John Bevan's daughter ; Robert Lloyd's wife 
was daughter of Rees Jones; Thomas Lloyd's wife was 
daughter to William Edward, and a niece of Hugh Roberts ; 
Griffith John was a cousin to Hugh Roberts's wife, and so 
on. All of these intermarriages among the leading Welsh 
families, however, did not establish a long-lived Welsh com- 
munity, for it has for many years been only a tradition. 

Having thus seen the pioneers of the Welsh tract settled, 
and taken account of these men and women, good Welsh 
Quakers all, who first ventured into the wilderness, west of 
the Schuylkill, and discovered the localities of their landed 
estates, we will take a glance at the people and their lands 
of the other Welsh companies who followed, many of whom 
were closely allied by intermarriages and blood with the 
pioneers. 



[138] 



ADVENTURERS FOR LANDS 
IN MERION AND HAVERFORD 



LLOYD & DA VIES' LAND PATENT 

Company No. 2. The grantees, under the patent for 
5,000 acres in the Welsh tract, to Charles Lloyd, gent., and 
Margaret Davies, widow, both of Dolobran, Meifod parish, 
Montgomeryshire, to whom, as trustees, they conveyed the 
land by deeds dated in April and June, 1683, were, in part, 
as follows: 
Joseph Harris, "late of Wallbrook, Middlesex 

Co." 1,250 acres 

And these, all of Montgomeryshire, Wales: — 
Thomas Jones, of Llanwthin parish, yeoman. . 15614 " 
Edward Thomas, of Llanwthin parish, yeoman 3121/2 " 
Margaret Thomas, of Garthlwlch parish, 

widow 15614 " 

John Humphrey, of Llanwthin parish, gent. . 3121/^ " 
John Rhytherch, of Hirnant parish, yeoman. . 156i/i, " 
Thomas Morris, of Marchnant Issa parish, 

gent 1561/1, " 



2,500 acres 
It appears that Mr. Lloyd and Margaret Davies each had 
a half interest in this patent, and that it was her 2,500 acres 
which were conveyed to the aforesaid grantees, for Mr. 
Lloyd conveyed his share, 2,500 acres, by deed dated 6. 
4mo. 1683, to his brother, Thomas Lloyd, some time the dep- 
uty-governor of Pensylvania, much of which was laid out 
in Merion tp., some north of Haverford,* and some north- 
east of Ardmore. 



•"Dolobran," the seat of the Griscom family, is on a part of it. Mr. 
Clement A. Griscom, though a descendant of Gov. Lloyd, acquired 
the property by purchase. His wife is a collateral descendant with 
these Humphrey grantees. 

[141] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

About 1694, the following accounting of the "Lloyd & 
Davis grant" was filed with the Land Commissioners, show- 
ing a difference from the above statement: 
"Sales of Charles Lloyd and Margaret Davis" : — 

"To Benj. Humphries 312^2 acres 

To Edw'd Thomas SI21/2 

To Tho. Jones I5614 

To Marg't Thomas 15614 

To Tho. Jones & Jno. Rhoderick 3121^ 

By Tho. Lloyd to Ev. Owen &c 340 



1,590 acres" 
"A new patent was requested for 2,215 acres, making in 
all 8,805 acres granted." 

Chakles Lloyd, gentleman, the grantee and grantor, of 
this Welsh Tract land, was born 9 Dec. 1637. He was a son 
of Charles Lloyd, gent., of Dolobran Hall, in Montgomery- 
shire, where he was a magistrate, and whose will, signed 17 
June 1651, was proved in 1657. 

Charles Lloyd was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, be- 
came a magistrate and was nominated for the shrievalty in 
Montgomeryshire. He joined the Society of Friends, about 
1662, and erected a public Meeting House near his residence. 
He and his wife were imprisoned for ten years in the Welsh- 
pool jail, on account of their religious principles. He died at 
Dolobran Hall, which subsequently degenerated into a ten- 
ant's house, 26. llmo. 1698. He married twice. He m. 
first, 11 Nov. 1661, Elizabeth, b. 2 Nov. 1633, d. 7 Feb. 1685, 
daughter of Sampson Lort, of Eastmoor (or East Meare), 
and Stackpole, in Pembrokeshire, high sheriff in 1649, 
brother to Sir Roger Lort, first Baronet, and m. secondly, 
8 Feb. 1686, Ann Lawrence, of Lea, in Herefordshire, who 
d. s. p., 2 March 1708. By his first wife, Charles Lloyd had 
two sons and one daughter. Two of these were born in 
jail. They married, and had descendants, but none came 
to Pensylvania. 

[142] 



COMPANY NUMBER TWO 

Charles Lloyd's sister, Elizabeth, married Henry Parry, 
of Llanfillyn, and his brother, John Lloyd, also educated at 
Jesus College, Oxon, became "clerk of the petty bag in 
chancery," 1683-95, and his other and youngest brother, 

Thomas Lloyd, b. 17 Feb. 1640-1, d. in Pensylvania 10 
Sept. 1694. Like his brothers, he was educated at Jesus Col- 
lege, and became a lawyer, and "a Quaker," and "a minister 
among Friends." In 1681, he and Charles, and other Friends 
had a celebrated debate, at Llanfillyn, with the Rt. Rev. the 
Bishop of St. Asaph, about religion, and religious questions, 
by request of the Bishop, who wished to learn their reasons 
for becoming non-conformists, and Quakers. 

The life and services of Thomas Lloyd as the deputy of 
William Penn in his Province, and presiding officer of the 
council, have been frequently printed. 

He first, it might be said, came into prominent notice in 
the Province when he bitterly opposed the Cromwellian sol- 
dier, and non-Quaker, Blackwell, whom Penn sent over as 
another of his experiments, as his Deputy-Governor, having 
so appointed him on Christmas Day, 1688. At this time, 
Lloyd had general authority over Penn's affairs, and it hurt 
him that an outsider superceded him, but Penn continued 
him as the keeper of the Great Seal, which still, in some 
things, made him a power Blackwell had always to reckon 
with, because the royal charter required that to make any 
law valid it must pass under the Great Seal, which meant 
Lloyd's consent. 

So soon as Blackwell entered upon the duties of his office, 
Lloyd inaugurated his campaign of opposition by flatly re- 
fusing to affix the Great Seal to Blackwell's first commis- 
sions, and when declining to do so, sent him a rather insult- 
ing note. Only Penn could remove Lloyd from his office, ao 
Blackwell brought charges against him and waited. 

While waiting Penn's decision, the election for council- 
lors came off, and Mr. Lloyd was returned as a member. 
When he went to take his seat, Blackwell ordered him not 

[143] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

to enter the room, because he could not be seated while he 
was charged by him "with high crime and misdemeanors." 

Thereupon, Mr. Lloyd, and two others, also elected but 
refused their seats by the Governor, forced their way into 
the Council Chamber, and took their seats. Blackwell, pre- 
siding, asked them by what right they presumed to do so, 
and Lloyd, replying for himself, answered insolently, "by 
special appointment by letter of the proprietor, which was 
as good as the Governor's commission." 

This occasioned great confusion in the Chamber, the 
Quakers being in the majority, and supporting Lloyd, bit- 
terly denounced Blackwell to his face, "so that he had to 
flee from the room, nearly all the members yelling at him," 
and telling him what they thought of him, and, the report 
says, that "Lloyd being the most clamorous was heard in 
the street." 

Those who supported the Governor, did so from convic- 
tion, holding that Lloyd was not altogether within his rights 
in the matter of the Great Seal, because not one of the en- 
grossed laws then in force, excepting it be the Frame of 
Government, had passed under the Great Seal. They had 
been considered "instructions from the proprietor." If 
Penn had not recalled Blackwell so promptly, on learning 
what was taking place in his far-off Province, there would 
certainly soon have been chaos in it. That Penn was "some- 
what unsteady in his principles of government, as well as 
in his matters of carrying them out," was apparent to the 
thoughtful, so when Mr. Lloyd received the appointment, 
succeeding Blackwell, there was a great sigh of relief, for 
everybody was tired of continual misunderstandings, and 
contentions over the laws and positions. It required the 
strong will, with his gentle manner, of Governor Lloyd to 
prevent Penn himself from violating his own laws, which 
was a cause for "his people" losing coniidence in him as a 
ruler, and of being prejudiced against him. 

[144] 



COMPANY NUMBER TWO 

Although Gov. Lloyd never resided in the Welsh Tract, 
he was strongly in sympathy with the Welsh Quakers in it 
in their "little unpleasantness" with William Penn and his 
agents. He was frequently at their meetings as a minister, 
and they were loyal to him in his difficulties with the Pro- 
prietary, for the Welsh stood together, and. were alwaya 
helpful to one another. For years, Gov. Lloyd's was one 
of the great families of the city, and his sons-in-law were 
among the most prominent and iniluential citizens, being 
mayors and provincial councillors. 

He arrived in Philadelphia, in the ship America, 20. 6mo. 
1683. His most intimate fellow passenger was the German 
gentleman and scholar, Fra. Dan. Pastorius, who was com- 
ing to settle here, "in this uncouth land, and howling wil- 
derness," as the German described the Province, and of the 
city, he said, "then Philadelphia consisted of 3 or 4 little 
cottages, all the residue being only woods, underwoods, tim- 
ber and trees." Mr. Lloyd's daughters, Rachel Preston, 
Deborah Moore and Mary Norris, came with him. To them 
Pastorius dedicated, in 1718, a poem, and in a note told that 
he could only converse with Mr. Lloyd in Latin, the only 
language in common between them. 

Charles Lloyd, the grantee of Penn, conveyed, as men- 
tioned, the balance of his interests in Pensylvania to his 
brother, Thomas Lloyd, by deed dated 6. 4mo. 1683. 

As above, Charles Lloyd and Margaret Davies jointly, by 
deed dated 29 June, 1683, conveyed 1250 acres of Marga- 
ret's land, for £25, to Joseph Harris, of Wallbrook, near 
London. Mr. Harris, by deed of 23 May, 1688, conveyed 
the rights to this tract of Pensylvania land to Francis 
Smith, "plaisterer," who sold it to Gov. Thomas Lloyd, but 
he died before the deed was executed, or the papers made 
out. But his son, William Smith, on 21 Oct. 1693, conveyed 
it by deed to Gov. Lloyd, and this brought his holding up to 
3,750 acres. 

[145] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Of these lands, Gov. Lloyd sold 1,000 acres, in one tract, 
to William Cuarton, 200 acres to David Pugh, 118 acres on 
the Liberty Lands line, to David Prees, or Price, but deed 
not made till 4. lOrao. 1694, 548 acres to Robert Owen, by 
deed of 5. 6mo. 1691, and 125 acres to E. Rees. The Gover- 
nor also owned land in the City Liberties, and sold two lots, 
100 acres and 145 acres to B. Chambers, a Philadelphia tav- 
ern keeper, and also sold 100 acres, above Merion to Thomas 
Davies. 

After his decease, Thomas Lloyd's* executors, Judge 
Isaac Norris, of Philadelphia, and Judge David Lloyd, of 
Chester, had considerable and endless trouble trying to 
settle his land interests. On 28. 4mo. 1703, they asked of the 



*Thomas Lloyd of Philadelphia, m. first, in Wales, 9 Sep. 1665, Mary, 
daughter of Roger Jones, of Welsh Pool, Montgomeryshire, and had ten 
children by her. His will, signed 10. 7mo. 1694, proved 22 Oct. 1694. 
He left his estate to his second v/ife, Patience, and his own chil- 
dren named Thomas, Hannah, Rachel, Mary, Elizabeth and Deborah: 
appointed Executors, his wife, "son Mordecay," son-in-law, Isaac Nor- 
ris, and "kinsman David Lloyd." Witnessed by Samuel Carpenter, 
Alexander Beardsley, and John Jones. He names wife's children: 
Enoch and Marcy Story. His wife Patience's will, signed 14 Aug. 
1720, proved 30 June, 1724, "son-in-law Richard Hill," Executor: 
her son Enoch, deceased; names granddaughters, "Deborah Moor 
and Patience Story": desired to be buried by the side of her hus- 
band, Thomas Lloyd. Signature witnessed by John Weaver (marked), 
and Charles Osborne. Of his children: 

Thomas Lloyd, Jr., 1675-171 — ; m. Sarah Young, who d. in Phila- 
delphia, and had issue from which descended the Pensylva'nia families 
of Moore, Willing, Wharton, Ridgway, etc. 

Deborah. Lloyd, 1682-172—; m. 12 Sep. 1704, Dr. Mordecai Moore, 
of Md. (second wife), and had issue, from which descend the Pensyl- 
▼ania families of Morris, Ellis, Collins, Lightner, Wain, Vaux, etc. 

Rachel Lloyd, 1668-172 — ; m. 6 July, 1688, Samuel Preston, mayor 
of Philadelphia, 1711 (first wife), and had issue, from which descended 
the Pensylvania families of Carpenter, Ellett, Shoemaker, Moore, 
Wainwright, Preston, Roberts, etc. 

Mary Lloyd, m. Judge Isaac Norris, of "Fairhill," d. 1735, and had 
issue from which descended the Pensylvania families of Harrison, 
McClenachan, Vaux, Logan, Dickinson, Emlen, Norris, etc. 

[146] 



COMPANY NUMBER TWO 

Land Commissioners that 500 acres in the Welsh Tract, any 
way, anywhere, be confirmed to his estate, and that hia 
purchase from his brother, and his sales and leases may be 
adjusted somehow, (and they never were), for this reason it 
is impossible to adjust this land account now; but it would 
seem that Gov. Lloyd got more than his original purchase, 
and that his estate had 2,215 acres for sale. 

These Lloyd lands lay next, and west of the tract taken up 
by the Thomas & Jones Company, which is quite as interest- 
ing a section of the "Main Line." After Gov. Lloyd's death, 
there are many transfers of his Merion, and other lands, 
by his executors. 

"My Respected friend, 

James Logan : I hould my self obledged to give thee an 
account of those Lands belonging to the purches of Thomas 
Lloyd where David Lloyd is conecimed, and Likwise of 
Richard ap Thomas, that is how much is taken up and sub- 
devided to them and sould by them, and what Remaines 
not disposed of by the sd Thomas Lloyd and the sd Richard 
Thomas. 

Accres. 
Thomas Lloyd had a Richt by his Brother Charles to. 2,500 



took up between Mirion and Harford 1,100 

And one 100 accres he ordered in his Richt to Thom- 
as David the wich was Laid out unto him 100 

1,200 

Remaining 1,300 

he allso Bought of ffrancis Smith the Sheare of Mar- 
garet Davise to herself being 1250 accres 1,250 

2,550 
there is I think 100 accres of Liberty Land Laid out 

to him 100 

[147] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

The Rest is to be yeat setled, and war'ts to be granted for 
the subdeviding of it within the Welsh tract, 
allso Richard ap Thomas his purchus is 5,OQ0 

out of wich he sould to Philip Howell 700 

and 100 of Liberty Land to Hugh Robarts 100 

and to Robart William 300 

and I think to Edward Joanes 200 

1,300 

Remaining to him to have War'ts to himself for 3,700 

as to David Lloyd part, there is an Imaginary Survey 
made one about 1,800, accres but not perfected. 

When thou art pleased to order war'ts for them or any 
others of the said Welsh purches'es I think there ought to be 
a Recitall of the first war'ts by wich the Land was first 
bounded by, and the time of the survey, Likwise comanding 
a Return of the Respective Subdivisions within the bounds 
of the said tract when not allready subdivided to any other 
Company, the wich Survey was done on the 28th of ye 8th 
Mo. 1684, and finished the day of the 11th Mo. En- 

suing. 

I Request thee allso to put an end to Philip Howell's busi- 
iness to Ease both myself and the Rest of ye Comiss'rs of 
his Continuall Importuning, and I think it were best to Let 
him have that Lott on Thomas Joanes account and Let him 
pay the money to Joanes, Least the War-r't granted by the 
Gover'r to Nealson take hould of it, and the Gover'r forced 
to pay the 35 pounds of Joanes out of his own pocett. 

these things I Refer to thy Consideration Leaving it 
wholy to thee to order it as thou think best and desire thy 
favor in Leting me have and End to my one business that 
my most Cordiall freind and Governor Left with thee to do 
for me Ells I am afraid I shall Suffer for want of it, who 
am thy Real freind. D. Powell." 

"Dat 5th 12th Mo. 1701." 

[148] 



COMPANY NUMBER TWO 

Evan Owen, to whom Thomas Lloyd seems to have sold 
340 acres, was a brother of Robert Owen, of Merion. As I 
do not find Evan was in possession of such a tract in Merion, 
and the Lloyd land covered the tract Robert Owen subse- 
quently owned, it is probable that Evan only engaged this 
340 acres for his brother Robert, as by deed, dated 5. 6mo. 
1691, Thomas Lloyd conveyed to said Robert this amount of 
land, which, with a piece he bought later, on resurvey, 30. 
3. 1703, amounted to 450 acres. 

Another sale made by Thomas Lloyd, which may have 
been out of his new patent land, was, by deed of 3. 6mo. 
1693, to Richard Cuarton, 200 acres in Merion, with one 
bushel of good winter wheat as the annual rental. His son, 
William Cuarton, assumed this land by agreement that he 
would pay his sister, then the wife of John Moore, seventy 
pounds, two years after his father's death. 

Of the grantees of Margaret Davis, or of her and Charles 
Lloyd, gent., as they joined in the deeds, when the land 
was conveyed, all dated 24 April, 1683, and having the same 
witnesses: — Thomas Lloyd, Richard Davies, Richard Owen, 
Amos Davies, Rowland Ellis, David Davies, and Solomon 
Jones, and all recorded at Philadelphia 15. 5. 1684. 

Margaret Thomas, of Garthlwlch, Montgomeryshire, 
■widow, who bought 1561/4 acres, by deed from Charles Lloyd, 
appointed, on 14 Aug. 1683, Thomas Jones, of Lanwithin, 
yeoman, who was also a purchaser of the same number of 
acres, her attorney to take possession of her grant, and look 
after the land. He had certificate, dated 31. 5mo. 1683, from 
the Quarterly Meeting at Dolobran, signed by John ap John, 
Charles Lloyd, Richard and Evan Davies and Sampson 
Lloyd. After her death, the Commissioners released him, 
as his interest in the matter had ceased. 

Thomas Morris, of Marchnantissa, Montgomery, yeoman, 
also a purchaser of 15614 acres, also gave the like power to 
him, and on Morris's death, he was also released from thia 
stewardship. 

[149] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

David Rhoderick, or Roderic, succeeded to his brother's, 
John Rhydd's, land. "John Rhydderch, of Himant" parish, 
Montgomeryshire, yeoman, brought certificate, dated 31. 
5mo. 1683, from the Quarterly Meeting at Dolobran, which 
he filed with the Haverford Monthly Meeting. It was signed 
by John ap John, Charles Lloyd, and Richard and Evan 
Davies. 

Edward Thomas, of Lanwithin parish, Montgomery, yeo- 
man, appointed John Humphrey, of Lanwithin, yeoman, to 
be his attorney, in the matter of his 3121/2 acres, after his 
decease, and the guardian of his children. Subsequently, 
Samuel Humphrey, and then his son Benjamin Humphrey, 
succeeded in this trust. Catherine, wife of Edward Thomas, 
was buried at the Merion Meeting, 10. 21. 1716. 

John Humphrey sold, by deed of 1. 7mo. 1697, 100 acres 
of his own 3121/2 acres, to his nephew, Joshua Owen, and 
gave the balance by will to his nephew, Benjamin Hum- 
phrey, whose son, John Humphrey, succeeded to it. 

The various Humphreys families, descendants of the 
first settlers, have always been noted in what was the Welsh 
Tract, residing on farms about the modem villages of Ard- 
more, Haverford and Bryn Mawr, and much of their original 
purchases remain in descendants' hands. 

Two brothers, John Humphrey, of Llanwddyn, and Sam- 
uel Humphrey, were Haverford land owners, and their 
cousin, Richard Humphrey, a purchaser from "Richard Da- 
vis Co., No. 7." John and Richard, came over in the "Morn- 
ing Star," with Hugh Roberts, in 1683, as mentioned. 

John and Samuel were sons of Humphrey ap Hugh, of 
Llwyngrill (1662), and "late of Llwyn du," in Merioneth, d. 
about 1664-5, by his wife, Elizabeth Powel, daughter of 
John ap Howel (or Powel, who was buried in the parish 
church of Llanwddyn, in Montgomeryshire, 24 July, 1636) , 
and his wife, Sibill v. Hugh Gwyn, of Penarth. 

They were uncles of Rowland Ellis, of "Bryn Mawr," 
Merion, (whose land adjoined Benjamin Humphrey's land), 

[150] 



COMPANY NUMBER TWO 

and also of Robert Owen's wife, Rebecca, (whose farm lay 
to the eastward on both sides of Montgomery avenue, be- 
tween Ardmore and Wynnewood), and of John Owen and 
Joshua Owen, of Merion (1683), (whose property adjoined 
that of Humphrey), and of Elizabeth, wife of "John Rob- 
erts, of the Mill," and "of Wayn Mill," who came from Pen y 
Chyd, in Denbighshire (whose estate was northward of 
Humphrey). They were brothers to Owen Humphrey, of 
Llwyn du, 1625-1695, a J. P. in Merioneth, and a prominent 
Friend, who was the father of Rebecca, wife of Robert 
Owen, of Merion, and Elizabeth, wife of John Roberts, 
aforesaid. 

"John Humphrey, of Llanwddyn, gent," purchased 3121/2 
acres of the Lloyd & Davies land, by deed dated 24 April, 
1683, and witnessed by Thomas Lloyd, Richard Davies, Rich- 
ard Owen, Amos Davies, Rowland Ellis, David Davies, and 
Solomon Jones. By deed dated 1. 7mo. 1697, John conveyed 
100 acres of this tract to his nephew, Joshua Owen, and by 
will bequeathed the balance to his nephew, Benjamin Hum- 
phrey. He married his cousin, Jane Humphrey (sister to 
Richard Humphrey, aforesaid). 

In 1698-9, John Humphrey was one of the attorneys for 
Richard Davies, one of the purchasers of Welsh Tract land. 
His will, signed 22. 7mo. 1699, witnessed by John Roberts 
and David Llewellyn, was proved at Philadelphia 31 Aug. 
1700. He named as executors his nephew, Benjamin Hum- 
phrey, his wife Mary, and son John ; named friends Rowland 
Ellis, Sr., and his daughter Jane, Joshua Owen, John Owen, 
John Robert's children, Robert Owen's son John; cousin 
Tabitha, Ann, and Joseph Humphrey. 

He said, "I give and bequeathe £10 towards putting in 
the Press the Testimony of the Twelve Patriarchs, in the 
Welsh tongue, if conveniences can be had for the same in 
these America pts." Otherwise, he desired this money 
should be used for the charities of the Haverford Monthly 
Meeting. This English work, which was to be a reprint in 

[151] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Welsh, was probably never so printed, as the money was 
still in the hands of the Quarterly Meeting, in 1702, when 
Daniel Humphrey and David Lewis tried to have it appro- 
priated for furnishing of the Haverford Meeting House. If 
the book was printed in the Province about this time, it 
was the first book printed in the Welsh tongue in America, 
as Pugh's "Annerch ir Cymru" was not printed till in 1721, 
by Andrew Bradford, Philadelphia. 

John Humphrey, "of Llwundu," and his wife, Joan, 
brought their certificate, filed with the Haverford, or Rad- 
nor Monthly Meeting, from the Quarterly Meeting at Ddy- 
Berrey, dated 27. 5mo. 1683, signed by Robert Humphrey and 
Richard Owen, Griffith and Owen Lewis, John Evans, Hugh 
Reese, Amos Davies, William Thomas, William, Evan and 
Rowland Ellis, Ellis Morris, Evan Harry, and Evan Rees. 

Richard Humphrey, "of Llanbynin, Merioneth, bachelor," 
also had certificate of same date from the same Meeting, and 
Bigned by the same Friends, with the addition of Humphrey 
Reinald. 

i^'.lizabeth Humphrey, "of Llanegrin, Merioneth, widow," 
"whose son Daniel is in Pensylvania, the 12 months past," 
brought certificate, dated 27. 5mo. 1683, from the Merioneth 
Quarterly Meeting. Her children, Charles, Benjamin, Lidia, 
Ann, and Gobeithia Humphrey, came over with her to Pen- 
sylvania and filed certificate with the Haverford Monthly 
Meeting. Signers, Owen Humphreys, Hugh and Evan Rees, 
Humphrey, Robert, Lewis and Rowland Owen, Griffith and 
Owen Lewis, Rowland Ellis, Evan Will Powel, John and 
David Evans, Amos and Ellis Davies. 

Samuel Humphrey, the other brother, died in Wales. He 
was married to Elizabeth Rees, on 20. 2mo. 1658, by Morris 
Wynne and Robert Owen, both justices of the peace, by 
Friends' ceremony, and it is believed that this was the first 
marriage of this kind. They had 8 children. His relict and 
children removed to Haverford. Of these, 

[152] 



COMPANY NUMBER TWO 

Benjamin Humphrey inherited 212 acres of land in Hav- 
erford from his uncle, John Humphrey, about where the vil- 
lage of Bryn Mawr, formerly called Humphrej'ville, stands, 
and adjacent to Rowland Ellis's land, and resided near the 
present Bryn Mawr College grounds. He d. 4 Nov. 1738, 
age 76 years. He m. (1694), Mary, daughter of Morris 
Llewellyn, of Haverford. Of their children, Ann m. 23. 
lOmo. 1742, Garrad Jones (son of Robert Jones, a first set- 
tler of Merion) ; Elizabeth, m. John Scarlett; Owen Hum- 
phrey m. 29. 7mo. 1738, Sarah, widow of John Hughs, of 
Merion. The will of John Hughs, of Merion, was signed 2 
Jan. 1736, witnesses Griffith and Morris Llewellyn, and 
William Lloyd, was proved by wife Sarah, 12 Feb. 1736, 
mentions father-in-law Morgan Herbert, but no children. 
Trustees, John Roberts and Griffith Llewellyn. Benjamin 
Humphreys succeeded Rees Price as landlord of the Blue 
Anchor tavern, on Dock Creek landing, in Philadelphia. 

Through Thomas John Thomas, he also had a tract of 
land, lying east of his other plot, and north of the present 
Montgomery avenue, at Haverford R. R. Station. 

Daniel Humphrey in 12mo. 1701, received warrant for 
200 acres of land, which was also located in Haverford, 
about the present Haverford College grounds, and on resur- 
vey found to be 41 acres "overplus," which he bought, paying 
8 shillings an acre. This land was in the right of "T. Ellis, 
L. David, & J. Poyer," who were grantees of Richard Da- 
vies. He also bought, 5. 3mo. 1694, 50 acres "due several 
purchasers," of the same Davies lands. He lived and died 
in Haverford, and was appointed to adjust the estates of 
Thomas Ellis and wife. His will, dated 26. 9mo. 1734, was 
proved at Philadelphia, 7 April, 1735. 

He had thirteen children by his wife (to. about 1695) 
Hannah, daughter of Thomas Wynne, who survived him, 
named Samuel, 6. 3. 6mo. 1696, first child; Joshua, Edward, 
Charles, Jonathan, Solomon, Thomas, Benjamin, Hannah, 
Elizabeth, Martha, Mary and Rebecca, b. 2. lOmo. 1716, last 

[153] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



child, all of record at Haverford Monthly Meeting. His 
cousins John and David Humphrey, with his first three 
named sons, were trustees under his will. 

Anne, m. (1699), Edward Roberts, son of Hugh Roberts,, 
of Merion. 

Lydia, m. (1706), Ellis Ellis, son of Thomas Ellis, of Hav- 
erford. 

Rebecca, m. (1713, second wife), Edward Rees, of Mer- 
ion. 

Elizabeth, m. (1693), Thomas Abel, of Haverford. 

Robert Owen, mentioned above as one of the purchasers 
of "548 acres" of Lloyd's land, by deed 5. 6mo. 1691, was 
a minister among the Friends. The Pensylvania historian. 
Proud, says of him, "he was an eminent preacher, and a 
very serviceable and worthy person among the Quakers, 
being a man endowed with many excellent qualities, a skil- 
ful peacemaker, and of much service and utility in various 
respects." 

From 1674, he was much persecuted in Wales for being 
a Quaker, and removed with his ^^afe Rebecca, "and their 
dear and tender children" to Pensylvania in 1690, bringing 
a flattering certificate from the Quarterly Meeting at Tyddyn 
y Garreg, in Merionethshire,* dated 8. 6mo. 1690 ; which is 



*The members of the Tyddyn 
Certificate of Removal: 
Evan Owen. 
Rowland Owen. 
Lewis Owen. 
Griffitt Robert. 
Jane Robert. 
Margaret Robert. 
Ellis Morris. 
Hugh David. 
Margaret David. 
Rowland Ellis. 
Ellin Ellis. 
John Evan. 



y Garreg Quart. Mtg., sig'ners of the 

Rees Evan. 
Hugh Rees. 

Evan Rees. 
Robert Vaughan. 
Rees Thomas. 
David Jones. 
Elizabeth Jones. 
Gainer Jones. 
Jonett Johnes. 
Regnald Humphrey. 
Ann Rowland. 
Owen Lewis. 



[154] 



COMPANY NUMBER TWO 

preserved in the archives of the Haverford (Radnor) 
Monthly Meeting. 

It may be seen he w^as not one of the original purchasers 
of land, in the Welsh Tract from the "Adventuring Com- 
panies," and it is not knov^m w^hy, nor is the reason apparent 
why he did not seek refuge from his "sufferings" sooner, 
since he was nearly related to many of the original settlers. 

Robert Owen was born about the year 1657, and was the 
eldest son of Owen ap Evan Robert Lewis, of Rhiwlas, who 
resided on the "Fron Goch" plantation, or farm, near Bala, 
in Merioneth, and who died before 1678-9 (by his wife, 
Gainor John), and brother to Jane, wife of the minister, 
Hugh Roberts, and to Ellin, wife of Cadwalader Thomas, 
and to Evan Owen, of Merion, b. 1665-6, and nearly related 
to John and Samuel Humphrey, of Haverford, and others 
here. 

Mr. Owen was one of the signers of the certificate of 
removal for John ap Thomas, the partner of Dr. Edward 
Jones, who was fated not to remove here, and was an over» 
seer of his will by appointment, 9 Feb. 1682. 

After his arrival, Robert Owen purchased, by deed dated 
5. 6mo. 1691, for one hundred pounds, the lands from 
Thomas Lloyd, variously estimated, according to surveys, 
at 442, 450, or 548 acres. This land lay west of the present 
settlement of Wynnewood, towards the village of Ardmore, 
north of the P. R. R., and was the plantation, which was 
confirmed to his eldest son and heir, Evan Owen, by the 
Commissioners, on 8. 12mo. 1704, who conveyed it, by deed 
dated 31 Dec. 1707, to his brother-in-law, Jonathan Jones. 

The original farm of Robert Owen, which is now being 
sub-divided into little lots for picturesque little country 
houses, lay in a general way between Thompson avenue, in 
Ardmore, and the west boundry of Narberth, and north 
from the P. R. R. to the Mill Creek Road, on both sides of 
Glenn Road, and Cherry Lane. He left it to his son, Evan 
Owen, in 1697, who sold it to his brother-in-law, Jonathan 

[155] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Jones, in 1707, whose son, Owen Jones, 1711-1793, had all 
of it, three lots, 350, 101 and 20 acres. His sons, Owen 
Jones, Jr., and Jonathan Jones, next had the property, 
Owen 350 acres, and Jonathan 101 and 20. Owen devised 
half of the 350 (on which the stone house stands) to Col. 
Owen Jones, who also had from his father his 121 acres, 
and the other half to his sister's son, John Wister, which 
portion is called "St. Mary's," and was inherited by his 
grandchildren, two daughters of the late Col. Lewis Wister, 
and Col. Owen Jones's property, "Wynnewood," went to hia 
son and heir, Awbrey Jones, who, dying without issue, left 
the place to collateral heirs. 

Immediately after he had possession, Robert Owen began 
the erection of a stone dwelling, which, as the date-stone 
tells, was completed in 1695. This house, which was built 
about the same time, apparently of similar materials, and 
possibly by the same contractor, as the Merion Meeting 
House, not far away, still stands, somewhat altered, on 
Montgomery avenue, east of Church road, a noted landmark. 
Here Mr. Owen resided at the time of his decease, on 8. 
lOmo. 1697, 

Mr. Owen was a justice in Merion and twice chosen as a 
member of the Assembly, 1695-1697, and was a trustee of 
the Merion Meeting, in whose ground both he and his wife 
were buried. 

His will, signed 2. lOmo. 1697 ; witnessed by John Owens, 
Rowland Ellis and Robert Jones, was proved at Philadelphia, 
16 May, 1705. He left his plantation to his eldest son, Evan 
Owen, only child named, and named as overseers, Messrs. 
Hugh Roberts, John Humphreys, John Roberts, Griffith 
John, Robert Jones, Robert Roberts, Robert Lloyd and Row- 
land Ellis, the foremost men of Merion, and appointed his 
cousin, Griffith John, sole executor. 

The inventory of the personal estate of Mr. Robert Owen 
was made "ye last day of ye eleventh month, 1697," by John 
Roberts and John Owen. It is preserved at the Historical 

[156] 



COMPANY NUMBER TWO 

Society of Pensylvania. He had seven cows, valued at £3. 
10, per head, two steers at £2. 10, per head, seven young cat- 
tle "at £1. 05, ye head," five horses and mares at £4. 10 ye 
head, twenty sheep valued at £7, twelve swine, £9, and 
wheat, barley, implements for farming, "books, £3," "bed- 
ding, and apparel, £47. 09. 6," "brass, pewter, and other 
household stuff, £12. 16. 0." Total valuation of the person- 
alty £188. 18. 06. (This John Owen was "ye 2nd son of 
Owen Humphreys, of Llwyn du," and brother to Joshua 
Owen). 

Mr. Owen married Rebecca Owen, daughter of Owen 
Humphrey, gent., of Llwynddu, in Llangelynin parish, Mer- 
ioneth. The marriage agreement, still extant, dated 6. Imo. 
1678-9, was between Robert's mother, Gainor John, his 
father being dead, and Owen Humphrey. It was signed, as 
witnesses, by Rowland Ellis, Edward Vaughan, John ap 
Thomas, and Cadwalader Thomas. The marriage certifi- 
cate, also extant, is dated 11. Imo. 1678-9. 
, Robert Owen had by his wife, Rebecca, who died 23. 8mo. 
1697, the following eight children (sic) Pa. Mag. vol. xiii, p. 
168, etc.), four, born in Wales, between 1697-1690, coming 
over with them. 

Evan Chven, eldest son, born probably at Fron Goch, about 
1682-3 ; died intestate in Philadelphia, and power to admin- 
ister on his estate was granted to his widow and relict. 
27 Oct. 1727. 

On his request, 3. 3mo. 1703, a resurvey was made of all 
the lands he inherited from his father, and it was found he 
had 450 acres in Merion, and 100 acres in Goshen tp. He 
had no desire to be only a country gentleman, and sold his 
farms to his brother in-law, as above, and removed into the 
city, after his marriage. 

Like his father, Evan Owen was a man of affairs. He 
removed into Philadelphia and was a member of the City 
Council, 1717, a Justice in Philadelphia county, 1723, &c, 
the treasurer of the city, 1724-27, a member of the Provin- 

[157] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

cial Assembly, 1725, and of the Provincial Council, 1726, 
and a trustee of the Society of Free Traders in Pensylvania, 
etc. 

He was a member of the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, 
where he was married to Mary, daug'hter of Dr. Richard 
Hoskins, (then deceased), 1. lOmo. 1711, (53 Friends signed 
their certificate), and had four children by her, of record 
at the Arch Street Meeting. One, Esther, m. 1743, William 
Davis, at Christ Church, Philadelphia. 

Elizabeth Owen, b. in Wales, in 168-, d. in Philadelphia 
22. lOmo. 1753. She m. David Evans, of Philadelphia, a 
deputy sheriff, 1714-21, will signed 27 Sept. 1745, and had 
six children. Of these, Evan Evans m. and had issue, and 
Sidney, second wife of Joseph Howell, of Chester, Pa.* 

Jane Owen, b. in Wales, in 168 — . Probably died young. 

Gainor Owen, b. in Wales, 26. 8mo. 1688, d. . She 

m. at the Merion Meeting, 4. 8mo. 1706, Jonathan Jones, 
1680-1770 (son of Dr. Edward Jones, of Merion), and had 
ten, or more, children, of these, Mary, b. 14. 5mo. 1707, m. 
at Merion Meeting, Benjamin Hayes, (a son of Richard 
Hayes, of Haverford) ; Rebecca, b. 20. 12mo. 1709, m. at 
Merion Meeting, 4 June, 1733, John Roberts, 1710-1776 (son 
of Robert Roberts, of Merion), and had twelve children; 
Owen Jones, 1711-1793, the last provincial treasurer, m. 30 
May, 1740, Susanna Evans, 1719-1801, a daughter of Hugh 
Evans, of Merion, 1682-1772, (their daughter, Hannah 
Jones, m. Amos Foulke, 1740-1791) ; Jacob Jones, b. 1713, m. 
Mary Lawrence ; Jonathan Jones, Jr., b. 1715, m. at Merion 
Meeting, 8. llmo. 1742, Sarah, daughter of Thomas Jones, 
of Merion, a son of John ap Thomas, (their daughter, 
Katherine, m. Lewis Jones, of Blockley), and Elizabeth m. 
about 1758, Jesse George, of Blockley. 



*See "Howell Family," in the American Historical Register, Jan. 
1896 

[158] 



COMPANY NUMBER TWO 

Owen Owen, second son, h. Merion, 21. 12mo. 1690-91, d. 
Philadelphia 5. 8mo. 1741 ; will dated 4. 5mo. 1741, proved 
11 August. He resided in the city and was high sheriff of 
Philadelphia Co., 1726, and city coroner, 1729-41. He to. 
23. 3mo. 1714, Ann Wood, d. 4. 2mo. 1743, and had five 
children. Of these, Jane, d. s. p., wife of Dr. Cadwalader 
Evans ; Sarah, m. 3 March 1736, John Biddle, (and had, be- 
sides othersTCol. Clement Biddle, 1740-1814, who had 13 
children), and Tacy, to. Daniel Morris, of Upper Dublin tp. 

John Owen, third son, b. 26. 12mo. 1692, d. in Chester 
Co., Pa., will proved 23 Jan. 1752. He was high sheriff of 
Chester Co. 1729-51, assemblyman, 1733-43, collector of the 
port of Chester, 1733-37. He to. at Chester Monthly Meet- 
ing, 22. 8mo. 1719, (48 Friends signed their certificate), 
Hannah, b. 17. 12mo. 1698, d. 1752, daughter of George 
Maris, of Chester, a provincial councillor, and had five chil- 
dren. Of these, Jane, m. Joseph West; E Hzabe th, to. Jame3 
Rhoads; Rebecca was the first wife of Jesse Maris, 1727- 
1811, and Susanna, m. Josiah Hibbard. 

Robert Owen, Jr., who, with his brother, Evan, was ad- 
mitted a freeman of Philadelphia in 1717, was b. 27. 7mo. 
1695, and d. about 1730. He to. at the Philadelphia Monthly 
Meeting- 11. lOmo. 1716-17, (sixty-one Friends signed their 
certificate), Susanna Hudson, (she to. secondly, John Burr, 
of Burlington, and d. 4. 3mo. 1757), daughter of William 
Hudson, mayor of Philadelphia, 1726 (by his first wife, 
Mary, daughter of Samuel Richardson, a provincial council- 
lor) , and had three children. Of these, Hannah Owen, 1720- 
1791, (will proved), to. first, 23. 8mo. 1740, at Arch Street 
Meeting, Philadelphia, John Ogden, widower, of Philadel- 
phia, d. 6 Feb. 1742, will dated 31 Jan. proved 12 Feb. 1742, 
and had William Ogden,* d. in Camden, N. J., 13. May, 1818, 

*See "Owen of Merion," Pen. Mag. vol. XIII, Glenn's "Merion in 
the Welsh Tract," Browning's "Colonial Dames of Royal Descent," 
Pedigree XXXVII, Browning's "Americans of Royal Descent, 4th 
edition, pp. 592-596, and Browning's "Mag'na Charta Barons and 
their American Descendants," pp. 373-380. 

[159] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

aged 77 years ; m. first, 1. llmo. 1769, Marie Pinniard, and 
had by her, who d. 14. 7mo. 1775, Hannah, 1770-1827, who 
m. first at Christ Church, Philadelphia, 10 April, 1795, Capt. 
William Duer, drowned in 1800-1, and had Mary Ann, m. 5 
May, 1825, Lewis W. Glenn, and had Edward, late of Ard- 
more. Pa., deceased, who m. secondly, Sarah Catherine 
Allen, and had Thomas Allen Glenn, author of "Merion in 
the Welsh Tract." Hannah Owen m. secondly, in 1754, his 
second wife, Joseph Wharton,* of "Walnut Grove," in 
Southwark, Philadelphia Co., d. 1776, and had issue. 

Rebecca Owen, b. 14. Imo. 1697; buried at the Merion 
Meeting House, on 21. 9mo. 1697; surviving her mother only 
one month. 

The aforesaid Robert Owen should not be confounded 
with a contemporary Welshman of the same name. This 
other Robert Owen, of Dolserau, came over in the ship Vine, 
of Liverpool, sailing from Dolyserre, near Dolgules, Merion- 
eth, with his wife, Jane, son Lewis, and a servant boy and 
four maid servants, and arrived at Philadelphia in Sep. 
1684. He had been a Justice of the Peace at Dolserau, 
near Dolgelly, (and near Bala), where he was incarcerated 
five years in the jail because he was a Quaker. He had 
been the Governor of Beaumaris, and became a Quaker 
about 1660. \Vhen he came over here, he settled on Duck 
Creek, in New Castle Co., where his son, Edward Owen, who 
had come over earlier, in Hugh Roberts's party, in Nov. 
1683, was then settled. Both Robert Owen and Jane, his 
wife, died in the next year. They had altogether nine sons, 
and all were of age before 1684. Their son Lewis Owen 
returned to Wales to reside, but their son Dr. Griffith Owen, 
who bought his brother Edward Owen's land, in the Thomas 
& Jones tract, Merion, remained here, and became prom- 
inent in the Province. The mother of this large family, 
was Jane, daughter of Robert Vaughan, of Heng Wert, or 



*See Pa. Mag. Vol. II, "Wharton Family." 

[160] 



COMPANY NUMBER TWO 

Hendri Mawr, near Bala, and of Nannau, Merionethshire, 
and a relative of the John ap Thomas family. 

The late Dr. Levick recorded that the Pensylvania histo- 
rian, Dr. George Smith, was a descendant of the Merion 
settlers, Dr. Edward Jones, and Dr. Wynne, and also of 
"Robert and Jane Owen, that brave pair, who, whether aa 
lord and lady of Beaumaris Castle, or for conscience sake, 
within the gates of Dolgelly jail, commanded the admiration 
and respect of all about them." 

In the ship Vine, of Liverpool, William Preeson master, 
which sailed from Dolyserre, and arrived at Philadelphia 
on 17. 7mo. 1684, there were, besides Rees John William, or 
Rees Jones, one of the purchasers of "Thomas & Jones," or 
"Company No. 1," and the aforesaid Robert Owen and 
Jeane, his wife, the following other passengers : 
^ David Davis, and his sister Katharine, and her daughter, 
iSfary Tidey, and one man servant, named Charles Hughes, 
who had three years to serve. They were from Denbigh- 
shire. 

Hugh Harris, and Daniel Harris. They were from Mac- 
chinleth, or Manhinteth, in Montgomeryshire, as were also 
the following: 

John Richards, Susan, his wife, and daughters Hannah 
and Bridget, and one servant, named Susan Griffith, to 
serve six years. 

Margaret, the wife of Alexander Edwards, and her daugh- 
ters, Margaret and Martha, and two sons, Alexander and 
Thomas. 

Rees Prees, and wife Ann, and daughters Mary, Sarah 
and Phebe, and two sons, Richard and John. From Rad- 
norshire. 

Jane Evans, widow, and four daughters, Mary, Alice» 
Sarah and Elizabeth, and a man servant, named Joseph. 

Anne Jones, and her daughter, Ann Jones. From Car- 
marthenshire. 

Griilith Owen, (the physician), his wife Sarah, and chil- 
dren, and servants, from Prescoe, in Lancashire. 

[161] 




A SECTION OF SCULL & HEAP'S MAP, 1750 



JOHN BEVAN'S LAND PATENT 

Company No. 3. — The deeds to grantees, who all resided 
in Glamorganshire, under the patent for 2,000 acres to 
John ab Evan, yeoman, (or John Bevan), of Trefyrhig, or 
Trevorrigge, Llantrissent parish, Glamorganshire, were 
dated after 16 Sept. 1681, and the grantees were, in part, 
as follows: 

Charles ab Evan, (Bevan), of Trevorrigg, and Llantwit 
Vardre parish, Glamorganshire, brother to John. 

John Richard, of Trevorrigg, tailor. 

Elizabeth Prichard and Katharine Prichard, of Telcha, 
Llantrissent, spinsters, whose deed for 250 acres, dated 8 
May 1682, was witnessed by Barbara Awbrey, John ab Evan, 
Jun'r, Evan John, and John Richard, 

Matthew Jones, of Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, Mer- 
cer, whose deed, dated 1 Aug. 1682, for 125 acres, was wit- 
nessed by Will Broadber, Ch Evans, Ebenezer David, and 
Jane Miller. 

David Jones, of Carmarthen town. 

Ralph Lewis, of Eglwysilan. 

Eventually John Bevan bought back the lands taken by 
John Richard, and the Prichards, and Ralph Lewis. 

The Commissioners' minutes relating to Welsh purchas- 
ers, however, give the foUovsning details. After getting deeds 
for their grant from Penn in Sept. 1681, John and Charles 
Bevan had laid out to themselves, 980 acres, in three tracts, 
750 acres in Marple tp., and 170 and 60 acres in Haverford 
tp., on warrants, dated 23. 5mo. 1688. By deed of 1 March, 
1698, Charles Bevan conveyed all bis rights to his brother, 
John Bevan. Shortly, John sold the 170 acres in Haverford 
to Evan Williams, and to John Hayes, 275 acres of the 

[163] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Marple tract, and his "liberty land" to Benjamin Chambers, 
of Philadelphia, and then had 535 acres left. He then 
bought, in 1697, 250 acres in Haverford, the purchase of 
Katherine and Elizabeth Prichard, or Piichit (ap Richard), 
and about 200 acres in Haverford which he had sold to John 
Richard, from said John's heir, Lewis Richard, or Richards, 
in Haverford, and 1681/2 acres also in Haverford, from 
"William Howel, and his wife, Mary, relict and administra- 
tor of Evan Thomas, who by deed, dated 10 May, 1683, pur- 
chased 250 acres of Lewis David." This gave John Bevan 
three tracts in Haverford tp., or in all 678 acres there, this, 
with his balance of 475 acres in Marple tp., made him holder 
of 1,153 acres in Haverford and Marple tps., at one time, — 
when he sold to the Welsh. 

By deed of 16. 5mo. 1684, John Bevan bought of Thomas 
Wynne 300 acres in Merlon, at Wjninewood, which was 
confirmed to him by patent from the Commissioners, dated 
9. 5mo. 1688, and then owned 1,453 acres. 

The brothers, Ralph Lewis and William Lewis, relatives 
of John Bevan, came with their families from Eglwysilan, 
in Glamorganshire. 

Ralph Lewis came over with Mr. Bevan, in 1683, having 
bought from him 250 acres, which were laid out in Haver- 
ford, next to the land of Thomas Rees. He sold part of it 
back to Mr. Bevan, and a part to David Lewis. He had 
several children by his wife, Mary. Hugh David, of Hav- 
erford, in his will, signed 27 April 1709, present Daniel Law- 
rence, Thomas James, Robert Jones, and Henry Lawrence, 
proved by wife Martha, 9 June, 1709, names children David, 
Ruth, Mary, Jonathan, Caleb, and Samuel, and to be over- 
seers, father-in-law, Ralph Lewis, cousins David Lewis and 
William Lewis, and Lewis David. 

William Lewis, the other brother, arrived in Philadelphia 
on IL 5mo. 1686. He purchased, by deed dated 13. lOmo. 
1692, a plantation of 120 acres, adjoining his brother Ralph's 
land, but which had been a portion of the Lewis David 

[164] 



COMPANY NUMBER THREE 

("Company No. 5") tract of 3,000 acres. It lay in Haver- 
ford, to the south of the present settlement of Wynnewood, 
and near the old Haverford Road. Subsequently, he bought 
50 acres in Radnor, and, by deed, 10. 10. 1698, he bought 
300 acres in New Town tp., Chester Co. 

William Lewis died in New Town, 9. 12mo. 1707-8. His 
will, signed 16 Jan. 1707-8, was proved at Philadelphia 12 
March following. He had five children by his wife, Ann, 
namely: Da-</id, Lewis, Evan, -William and Nathan Lewis, 
whose son Levi had a son Jesse, father of Levi Lewis, who 
was a practical farmer in Radnor tp. The latter's son, 
Tryon Lewis, born in 1839, was of the fourth generation of 
sons only born at the old Lewis home, and his daughter, 
Lydia T., was the first girl child born in this branch of the 
family in five generations. 

William Lewis's son, David Lewis, was the father of 
Amos, who owned the farm near Bryn Mawr, purchased 
by the late George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, for a country 
Beat. The will of David Lewis, of Haverford, signed 9 Sep. 
1723, in the presence of Richard Hayes, John Parry, and 
John Jones, was proved 23 Sept. 1723, by wife Ann and eld- 
est son William, executors. Other children named, James, 
Edmond, Amos, Enoch, Elizabeth and Ellen Ann. "To the 
Quaker Meeting at Haveford." Brothers Lewis, Evan, and 
William Lewis, and Robert Jones to assist the executors. 

The wills of the other two men, in Haverford, having 
his name, give the following data. "David Lewis, late of 
Landewi, Pembroke, now of Haverford," marked in the 
presence of Abraham Hardiman, David Lawrence, and 
David Lloyd, 26. 3mo. 1697; will proved 22 Jan. 1708. Ap- 
points son James Lewis executor, names son-in-law Pere- 
grine Lewis, and his three children. Codicil 26 Feb. 1707, 
witnessed by John Maris and David Jones. The will of 
the other "David Lewis, of Haverford, yeoman," marked 
24, Imo. 1714-5, in the presence of Lewis David (marked), 
Henry Lewis, Richard Hayes, and Henry Lawrence, proved 

[165] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

28 Jan, 1715, by wife Katherine. Children, Joseph, Sus- 
anna, Hannah, James, and Sarah Lewis. Trustees, Lewis 
David, of Darby, Richard Hayes, Henry and Daniel Law- 
rence all of Haverford. 

John Bevan, or John ab Evan, who was the trustee for 
this small company of settlers, was one of the early con- 
verts to Quakerism, and became an accepted minister among 
Friends. He apparently was a well educated man, and 
belonged to the landed gentry of Wales. He was the son 
of Evan ap John Evan, of Treverigg, Llantrisant parish, 
in Glamorganshire, and his wife, Jane, daughter of Rich- 
ard ap Evan, of Collena, in the same parish. 

He and his first vnfe, Barbara, and their children, "their 
tender family," and some other relatives, removed to Pensyl- 
vania, coming over in the ship "Morning Star," with Hugh 
Roberts and party bound for the Thomas and Jones land, 
arrived at Philadelphia in Nov. 1683. He and his wife 
brought the usual certificates of membership and removal 
from the Treverigg Friends' Meeting, and the Men's Meet- 
ing of Cardiff and Trefrig, dated 10. 7mo. 1683. Among the 
many signers, William Lewis; Howell, William, Watkins, 
and James Thomas; Thomas, Edward, Jenkin, and Mireck 
Howell, John David, John Mays, and his uncle, (his mother's 
brother), Thomas Richard (or Prichard) ap Evan, of Col- 
lena, for whose daughters, Elizabeth and Catherine, John 
Bevan bought some Haverford land, which he bought bacK. 
from them as above. 

John Bevan left a copy (still extant) of the written 
account of himself and family, which, at the request of the 
Merion Preparative Meeting, or the Haverford Mo. Mtg. 
he had filed with it in 1704, beginning: — "Sometime before 
the year 1683, we had heard that our esteemed friend, 
William Penn, had a patent from King Charles the Second 
for that Province in America, called Pencilvania, and my 
wife had a great intention to go thither, and thought it 
might be a good place to train up children amongst sober 

[166] 



COMPANY NUMBER THREE 

people, and to prevent the corruption of them here, .... 
She acquainted me therewith, but I then thought it not 
hkely to take effect, for several reasons." It further tells 
how he found the way clear to remove; of his voyage; of 
his experience here; of his travels as a minister into New 
England, in 1701 ; and of his final return to his home in 
Wales in 1704, with his second wife and young daughter, 
Barbara, as "the aim intended by my wife was in a good 
measure answered," where they lived the balance of their 
lives. 

Though he lived here, off and on, only about twenty years, 
or till in 1704, John Bevan was a prominent man of affairs 
in the Welsh tract. He was chosen one of their representa- 
tives, in the Provincial Assembly, by the Welsh, in the 
years of 1687, 1693, and 1700, and was appointed a justice 
in Haverford tp., Philadelphia Co., in 1685, and for the 
same in Chester Co., in 1689. 

He visited Wales on private matters, in 1694-5, and mar- 
ried his second wife. An extant letter, dated 29. 2mo. 1695, 
from Rees Thomas, of Merion to his father-in-law, William 
Awbrey, says "my unkle John Bevan came over very well, 
and a good voyage he had." In 1698, he went to his old 
home again, where he still owned property, and in 1704, 
went theire to remain, as the Quakers were no longer 
persecuted in Wales, and there v/as too much unpleasantness 
in Penn's country. 

After John Bevan had made several sales in right to 
these 2,000 acres he bought from Penn, as explained above, 
he had remaining, besides 25 acres of the liberty land that 
went with his purchase, for which he had warrant dated 
5. 8mo. 1702, the farm of 300 acres in Merion, and 90 acres 
adjoining, located in Haverford, constituted his homestead 
here. This land lay to the south of the present Wynne- 
wood R. R. station, and South of the modern Lancaster Ave., 
across the old "Haverford Street," and along the lines of 

[167] . 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Haverford tp., and of the present Philadelphia Co. Some 
of this tract belonged to his descendants for about one hun- 
dred years, — not after 1810. 

John Bevan lived to be about 80 years old, and died at hia 
home, called "Treveyrig," or Treverigg, where he resided 
after his final return in 1704. His will, dated Imo. 1724-5, 
was a very long, and full one, and was witnessed by his 
brother, Charles Bevan, and was proved at Llandaflf Regis- 
try, in Glamorganshire, 21 Oct. 1726. Charles Bevan, Wil- 
liam Awbrey, of Pencoed, and others, named as the over- 
seers. 

To his grandson, John Bevan, he bequeathed his mes- 
suage, called "Treveyrig," and a gristmill on this property, 
and mentions said John's children, his own great-grandchil- 
dren, to wit, Richard, Thomas, and Barbara Bevan. He 
mentioned his 90 acres in Haverford, and his 300 acres in 
Merion, and two other pieces of land that he had given to his 
iBon Evan Bevan. 

John Bevan, when a young man, married Barbara, daugh- 
ter of William Awbrey, of Pencoed, or Pencoyd. She came 
over with him in 1683, and they returned to the old home in 
1704, as he relates in his journal, as follows: "We landed 
at Shields in Northumberland, and staid over the meeting 
on first-day, next day we set forward toward our habitation 
in Wales, having near 300 miles to travel. We had several 
good meetings in our way, and about the beginning of the 
Eighth month, 1704, we came to our home at Treveyricke." 
Telling of his wife's last illness six years later, "in her last 
sickness she was sensible, she was not likely to recover out of 
it, she said, 'I take it as a great mercy that I am to go before 
thee, we are upwards of forty-five years married, and our 
love is rather more now towards one another than at the be- 
ginning,' she quietly departed this life the 26th of the Elev- 
enth month, 1710, aged 73 years, and about 4 months." It 
has been said that he had two wives, both named Barbara, 

[168] 



COMPANY NUMBER THREE 

but this wife was certainly the wife of his youth, as they 
were married in 1665, he being only 19 and she 28 years 
old. Of their children: 

John Bevan, the eldest. He came to Pensylvania with 
his parents. He may have been the bachelor of this name, 
buried at the Merion Meeting llmo. 13. 1715-6. It is also 
supposed that he returned to "Treveyrig" with his father, 
married and died there, before his father, having a son John, 
who was a gentleman farmer and miller, enjoying the land 
of his inheritance, and whose children in 1724 were, (named 
in will of John Bevan, 1725), Richard, Thomas, and Bar- 
bara. The father of these children is also placed as a son 
of Evan, named below. 

Jane Bevan, h. about 1667, d. 12. lOmo. 1703; m. at the 
home of William Howell, in Haverford, 1. lOmo. 1687, John 
Wood, of Darby, a member of Pensylvania Assembly 1704- 
1717, a son of George Wood, a J. P., and Assemblyman, 
1682-1683, and had seven children, A descendant is John 
W. Jordan, LL.D., of Philadelphia. 

Evan Bevan, from whom all of this surname in Merion 
descended, was born about 1672. He visited his father at 
"Treveyrig," and from the Friends' Meeting there brought 
his certificate, dated 10. 5mo. 1707. He m. at the Darby 
Monthly Meeting, on 9. llmo. 1693, Eleanor Wood, who ad- 
ministered on Evan's estate, 13 Aug. 1720, and had eight 
children. She was a minister among Friends, and d. 28. 11. 
1744, and was buried at the Haverford Meeting House. 

Evan Bevan resided on his father's Merion land, and died 
intestate before his father. His father bequeathed his 
Merion-Haverford plantation to his daughter-in-law in trust 
for his grandson, Evan Bevan, Jr., 1698-1746, and should he 
not live to enjoy it, then it was to go to Awbrey Bevan, 
1705-1761, or Charles Bevan, other grandchildren of the 
testator, children of this Evan Bevan. Evan Bevan, Jr., 
was the father of Charles, who inherited the home farm, 

[169] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

but generally resided in Philadelphia. His estate was ad- 
ministered in Jan. 1800, his wife dead, and two children 
minors. One of these, Charles, Jr., m. Mary Lippincott, 
and died intestate, in 1809, in Merion, also leaving two 
children minors, named John L. and Henry C, who inher- 
ited the John Bevan property. 

Ann Bevan, b. about 1676-7; m. at the Merion Meeting, 
23. Imo. 1696-7, Owen Roberts, of Merion, (son of the 
Friends' minister, Hugh Roberts), and had six children. 

Elizabeth Bevan, b. about 1678; d. 1739; m. at Merion 
Meeting SO. 4mo. 1696, Joseph Richardson, d. 1752, son of 
Samuel Richardson, a Provincial Councillor, and had eight 
children. Descendants were Mrs. Arthur D. Cross, of San 
Francisco, and Judge Samuel W. Pennypacker, of Phila- 
delphia, former Governor of Pensylvania. 

Barbara Bevan, b. in Pensylvania 5. 7mo. 1S96. "She was 
the only child by his second wife," and went to Wales with 
her parents in 1704, where she m. William Musgrove. 

Charles Bevan, of Lantwit Vardre, had a son Evan Be- 
van, or "Evan Bevan alias Jeuans," as he signed his name, 
oorn in 1678, educated at Oxford, and became a lavi^^er, and 
a minister and elder among Friends, and d. in 1745. Testi- 
mony as to his good character made in the Monmouthshire 
Meeting, 17. 2mo. 1746. (See Memoir of him in the 
"Friends' Library," vol. XIIL)* 

* The following item concerns another branch of this family. 

A Mrs. Catherine Bevan was sentenced by the Court of New Castle 
Co. (Delaware), to be burned alive at New Castle, in 1731, for the 
murder of her husband. It was the intention of the kind-hearted sheriff 
to hang her by the neck over the pile of fagots, in the hope she would 
strangle to death before being burned. But some accident happened 
to the rope — it broke, slipped, or was cut, after the fire was well 
under way, when she dropped, bound hand and foot, into the blaze. 
Struggling to free herself from her bindings, she nearly escaped 
from the pyre, and had to be pushed back into the flames, and held 
there by the sheriff and the crowd, while she died a lingering and 
horrible death, in conformity with the sentence of the Court. 

[170] 



COMPANY NUMBER THREE 

Rees Thomas, who came over with John Bevan, in 1683, 
was then a young and unmarried man. Nothing certain is 
known of his ancestry, but it is presumed he had lived in 
Glamorganshire, and was a relative of Mr. Bevan. In time, 
he became a prominent man in the Welsh Tract, a justice 
of the peace, and an Assemblyman, and a successful farmer. 

About two months after his marriage, he bought his first 
land, some 300 acres in Merion, from Sarah, the relict and 
widow of John Eckley, by deed dated 15. 6mo. 1692, which 
land adjoined that of Ellis Hugh, of Merion. Later, he 
bought 170 acres adjoining this first purchase, from Ed- 
ward Prichard. These two tracts of land lay about where 
the village of Rosemont stands, and north and west of the 
P. R. R. station. From the Land Commissioners' minutes, 
it appears that "Rees Thomas, of Haverford," by deed dated 
4 May, 1713, acquired 500 acres, with the usual bonus of a 
city lot, and liberty land, from John Clark, of Devizes, Wilt- 
shire, and on 12. Imo. 1715, he desired warrant of survey 
to lay out this claim, but it is not evident that this was 
granted, or that he entered upon this land. 

About this time, Rees Thomas and Anthony Morris, Jr., 
bought from William Awbrey, of London, (a relative of 
Rees's wife), executor to Richard Whitpain, the right of 
Whitpain to 7,000 acres "in the country," city lots and 
liberty land. This tract lay in West Town, Chester Co., in 
the "Welsh Tract," of that county, a distinct purchase from 
that of which I write. In 1717, when they applied to have 
this land laid out to them, they had considerable trouble 
over it with the relict and heirs of Whitpain, and had to 
compromise, and on 30. 3mo. 1718, received warrant of 
survey for only a part, but subsequently were allowed an- 
other selection, and had 2,000 acres in Chester Co., and 
4,500 acres in Philadelphia Co., and for all this land, they 
asked for a re-survey, 19. 3mo. 1726. 

There is a copy of the following note from James Steel, 
who was one of the great land-grabbers of the time in the 

[171] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Lower Counties (Delaware). It is dated 17. 9mo. 1722, 
"To Rees Thomas, upon iiis brother's illness: I hereby cer- 
tify that I did agree with Rees Thomas, on behalf of his 
brother, William Thomas, for 200 acres of land in Radnor, 
formerly held by Rees Frees on Rent." The purchase price 
was £40 for the whole, in consideration that William Thomas 
also purchase the right in the land of Rees Thomas. 

Rees Thomas's will, signed 10 Sept. 1742, was proved 12 
Feb. 1742-3. He left the homestead farm, and 200 acres of 
the "Rosemont" land, bought of Eckley, to his son Rees, and 
the other tract there to son William. 

Rees Thomas married at the Haverford Meeting, 18. 4mo. 
1692, Martha Awbrey, who also came over in Mr. Sevan's 
party, in 1683. She died 7. 12mo. 1726. She was one of 
the ten children of William Awbrey, who was buried at 
Llanelyw parish church, in Brecknock, in 1716, aged 90 
years, and his wife, and cousin, Elizabeth, a daughter of 
William Awbrey, eldest son of Thomas Awbrey, gent., of 
Llanslyw. 

In an extant letter, dated 29. 2mo. 1695, Rees Thomas 
and his wife wrote a joint letter to her father in Wales, tell- 
ing him about their two children, their farm life, and asked 
the date of Martha's birth. Mr. Thomas concluded with : — 
"I doe understand yt thou were not well pleased yt my 
oldest son was not caled an Aubrey. I will answer thee I 
was not against it, but my neibors wood have him be caled 
my name, being [as] I brought ye Land and I so beloved 
amongst them, I doe admite to what thee sayes in thy letter 
yt an Aubrey was better known than I, though I am hear 
very well acquainted with most in these parts. He is ye 
first Aubrey in Pensilvania and a stout boy he is of his age 
being now a quarter." 

Of the six children of Rees and Martha Thomas : — 

Rees Thomas, Jr., b. 22. 2mo, 1693, who is referred to in 
the above letter. He m. Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Edward 
Jones, of Merion. 

[172] 



COMPANY NUMBER THREE 

Awbrey Thomas, b. 30. llmo. 1694, d. s. p. He m. Gu- 
leima, only daughter of William Penn, the younger. His 
mother was a sister of William Awbrey, the son-in-law of 
William Penn, the Founder. 

Herbert Thomas, b. 3. 9mo. 1696, d. s. p. He m. Mary, 
daughter of John Havard.* 

WiUiam Thomas, who died at "Rosemont" before 1787. 
He married and had seven children. 



'In the will of Lewis John, of Haverford, signed 2. 9ma. 1704, 
in the presence of Nathan Thomas, John Havard, William Sinkler 
(marked), and David Powell, proved by wife, Elizabeth, and daugh- 
ter, Margaret Lewis, the executors, 2 Dec. 1704, he mentions da-jghter, 
Elizabeth, wife of John Rees, and "my kinsmen John Havard and 
Nathan Thomas." 

Will of Margaret Thomas, of Merion, widow, marked 23 April, 
1719, in presence of James John (marked), Griffith and Mary Llew- 
ellyn, names son Owen Thomas, (and his childre'n, William and 
Hester), daughter Katherine, wife of Robert Pearson, (and their 
children, Thomas and Mary), and "grandson John, son of James 
Thomas, and his uncle Nathan Thomas." 

Will of Edward Thomas, of Merion, signed 21 Dec. 1729, wtnessed 
by Robert Jones, Hugh Evans, John Bowen, and Owen Roberts 
(marked). Proved 26 March, 1733, by Thomas Thomas, his son. 
Other children, Evan, Elizabeth, and Margaret Thomas. Legacy "to 
the Grave Yard at Merion Meeting." Overseers, Hugh Evans, Rob- 
ert Roberts, Jonathan Jones, and Robert Jones. 

Will of John Thomas Thomas, of Merion, yeoman, marked 25 May, 
1721, witnesses Henry Lewis, Jenkin David, Llewellyn (marked), 
End Evan David. Proved 16 Sep. 1723. Names Margaret, wife of 
James Mortimer, nephews Thomas Edwards, Morris Thomas, and 
John Thomas. Cousin Benjamin Humphreys, of Merion, to he execu- 
tor. 

[173] 



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JOHN & WYNNE'S LAND PATENT 

Company No. 4. The grantees under the patent, dated 14. 
7mo. 1681, for 5,000 acres, issued to John ap John, the 
founder, probably of the Welsh Tract idea and indirectly of 
the Merion Meeting, and Dr. Wynne, were Denbighshire peo- 
ple, and in part, as follows: It seems that each of these 
"trustees," John and Thomas, took 2,500 acres of their joint 
purchase to keep, or to sell, as they thought best. 

John ap John, according to a memorandum, in his own 
writing, says: 

"Here is An Account of what I John ap John have sould 
out of my part of this deed and what remains still in ray 
hands. First, I paid William Penn, by ye hands of Richard 
Davies and his sonn David Davies, ye sum of Fifty pounds 
Stl., and for which I have their recets, and I have disposed 
of ye land as followeth: — 

"To Thomas Taylor I sold 500 acres 

"To John Roberts I sold 500 " 

"To Treial Reider I sold 400 " 

"To Mary Fouk I sold 200 " 

"To Richard Davies 250 " 

"To Owen Parry 150 " 

"reserved for myself 500 " 

"Be it remembered also yt I rebought from Trial Reder 
aforsd 400 acres. 

"So wt remains for me unsold is 900 acres." 

But Dr. Wynne left no memorandum of the disposition of 
his share, but he soon got rid of it. 

Some of John ap John's land seems to have passed to the 
following : 

[175] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Howel and Philip James, of Philadelphia. 

Isaac Wheeldon, of Llanroost, Denbighshire, a glover. His 
is a very long deed, dated 20 Mar. 1681, for "1 2-30 part, or 
share of 5,000 acres of land." He assigned his rights, 13. 
10. 1695, to Samuel Lewis, of Darby, whose son Samuel, Jr., 
inherited it. 

"Lueien Sixsinth," bought 200 acres. 

Owen ffouike, of Bettws y Coed, Caernarvonshire, a tan- 
ner. 

Mary Southworth (ffouk?) was also a purchaser from 
John ap John of 200 acres. Afterwards, she married Henry 
Molineaux, and the right to this land was sold to John 
Parker, of Philadelphia, with her right for 300 acres more 
of her land, bought from Dr. Wynne, for all of which Parker 
had deeds and warrants, which were accidentally destroyed 
by fire and he could not locate the purchases. 

The dates of the various deeds conveying these lands by 
John ap John, were, between the iirst one of 25. 5mo. 1681, 
and 7. 5mo. 1682. 

By deed dated 20. 7mo. 1691, John ap John sold his re- 
mainder of 900 acres to Hugh Roberts, of Merion, who had 
200 acres of the purchase laid out in Merion, which he sold 
to Robert Owen, and Robert, by deed of 30. 3mo. 1696, con- 
veyed 100 acres of same to Daniel Thomas, of Merion, and 
after Robert's decease, 100 acres to Thomas Rees, by deed 
of 27. 7mo. 1700. 

John ap John further sold, of this balance, 482 acres, laid 
out in Goshen and had about 200 acres left, for which a 
warrant was issued to him. 

"Tryall Rider," never came to Pensylvania. In 1695, with 
John ap John, he attended a meeting at Tregaron, in Rad- 
norshire. He was a flax dresser, at Wrexham, in Denbigh- 
shire. 

These further items as to the disposition of the lands of 
John & Wynne are also of interest. 

[176] 



f COMPANY NUMBER FOUR 

"Owen Pusey," or "Owen Parry, of Dynullo, Issa, Den- 
bigh, yeoman," named as a purchaser from him by John ap' 
John. It was claimed to the Land Commissioners that he- 
bought 150 acres, by deed dated 17. 5mo. 1682, "of John ap' 
John and Jon (sic) Wynne," and it was wished to have 
same located. No deed, however, could be produced, and 
said Owen was then dead, yet it appeared that his son had 
sold the right to this land in 1707, to Owen Roberts, whose 
executor sold it to John Walter. Jonathan Wynne confirmed 
this sale, 23 March, 1727. Owen Roberts, and his wife- 
Ann, had certificate from the "Harford," i. e. Haverford 
Monthly Meeting, "held at Merion," addressed to the Phila- 
delphia Monthly Meeting, dated 9. 12mo. 1709-10. 

After John & Wynne's purchasers were put into posses- 
Bion of their lands, scattered in the townships of Merion^, 
Haverford, Radnor, Goshen, New Town, Middletown, and 
in the Great Valley, it was discovered by Jonathan Wynne 
that 100 acres of their joint transactions were not accounted 
for. Their land operations were complicated. 

When Jonathan Wynne made his application, elsewhere 
mentioned, and was granted 400 acres on his father's own 
account, in the "Great Valley," or Chester Valley, it was 
on condition that he surrender the right to those 100 acres, 
if such an amount was needed to make up the full acreage 
of any of John & Wynne's sales to original purchasers; he 
had to surrender these 100 acres subsequently to one James 
Steel, who also bought from Jonathan another 100 acres in 
the Great Valley, paying him £15. 10, and on 14. 7mo. 1736f 
the Commissioners issued patent to said Steel for 200 acres, 
as "in old right of John & Wynne." 

"Richard Davis," or Davies, had his 250 acres (less 5 
acres of Liberty land) laid out in Goshen tp., adjoining the 
land of Griffith Owen, who subsequently bought it. He had 
also 31214 acres, laid out "above Newton" (in Chester Co.)^ 
which he sold to David Evan, who had bought of "Howe! 
James and son" 232 acres, also "out of the John & V/ynne 

[177] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

tract," and two lots of 150 acres and 50 acres from William 
Davies, also of same tract, and supposed he had 7441/2 acres 
altogether, but these tracts, upon resurveys, after he had 
paid for 20 acres over-plus, on an earlier survey, came out 
only 662 i/i acres. 

Richard Orme (or Orms), who owned 150 acres in the 
"Letitia Penn Tract," in Goshen tp., above Merion, bought 
150 acres in Radnor tp., of "the John & Wynne land," which 
Jonathan Wynne gave him a deed for, 2. 4mo. 1704. Rich- 
ard Orme also bought 125 acres of the land in the Welsh 
Tract, from "Humphrey Bettally," or Bettly, who had 250 
acres from John & Wynne, (Jonathan Wynne bought the 
other 125 acres) , and sold the same to "Jonathan Height." 
It seems that Orme had "located" this land, but someone 
else also got hold of the same land, for when the Height 
heirs, (Richard Maris and Elizabeth, his wife, and Evan 
Lewis, and wife Mary) , wanted to sell the land it could not 
be found. Thereupon, on petition, in 2mo. 1720, the Com- 
missioners granted 120 acres to Lewis Lewis, of Chester Co., 
to be "located back in the country," and was laid out near 
New Town. 

Thomas Taylor's (he was a resident of Denbighshire), 
land, 500 acres, which he acquired by deed of 8. Imo. 1683, 
was laid out to him in Middletown, Chester Co., next to land 
of Richard Crosbj^ His ten acres bonus in the Liberties he 
sold to William Edwards. Thomas Taylor, Jr., inherited 
the Chester Co. tract. 

The John Roberts, of "Pennyckland," Penytklawe, or Pen 
y Chvyd, in Denbighshire, yeoman and millwright, to whom 
John ap John states he sold, for ten pounds, 500 acres, by 
deed dated 7. 5mo. 1682, when he came to Pensjdvania, was 
known as "John Roberts, the miller," and "of the Wayne 
Mill," in Merion, where he had a grist mill. 

This deed was recorded at Philadelphia llnio. 16. 1683-4, 
the grantors being "John ap John, of Ruaben parish, Den- 
bigh, yeoman, and Thomas Gjmn, of Cairwis, Flint, Chirur- 

[17S] 



COMPANY NUMBER FOUR 

geon," Dr. Wynne's signature was witnessed by Richard 
-Davis, Tryall Ryder, Richard Orms, and Mary Southworth, 

and John's by Richard Davis, and Rogers. The 

deed recites that the 500 acres conveyed was a part of 5,000 
acres purchased from William Penn, and that John ap John 
and "Thomas Gynn" were co-trustees, and only contributed 
some part of the £100 to pay for the 5,000 acres, or, quoting 
the deed, "though the sd John ap John and Thomas Gynn 
were entitled to take up ye sd conveyances of all ye sd 5,000 
acres, yet they onely intended to have their separate shares 
and proportion of the sd 5,000 acres according to the sume 
they laid out as part of ye sd 100 pds, and are onely trustees 
as to ye rest of ye sd 5,000 acres," and that "the said John 
Roberts hath contributed some part of the said £100 consid- 
eracon money towards the purchase of the sd 5,000 acres, 
that is to say, the sd John Roberts hath laid out Tenn 
Pounds." This clause in Penn's, and his "first purchasers" 's 
deeds, was the cause of considerable misunderstanding sub- 
sequently, when first purchasers asked to have bonus lands 
conveyed to them, because it defined them as only "trus- 
tees," as may be seen hereafter. 

Of his 500 acres, which lay along the "Mill Creek Road" 
(and ten acres of liberty land he received as bonus, which 
lot he sold to William Edwards) , he sold 100 acres, lying in 
the upper part of Merion, adjoining the land of Edward 
Griffith, to Thomas David. He retained two parcels of 250 
acres and 140 acres, in the same locality, and these were laid 
out to him, 12. 2mo. 1685, and 12. 2mo. 1696. In 4mo. 1703, 
he had trouble with Martha Keite, or Kite, a neighbor, about 
division lines. The matter was laid before the Commission- 
ers, who ordered a jury on the case, and a resurvey, and 
after all the miller lost his suit. 

This John Roberts married here a few years after coming 
over, it is said, Elizabeth Owen, a niece of Owen Hum- 
phreys (ap Hugh), of Llwyn du, in Merionethshire, and it 
has been printed that he was then 60 years old, and the bride 

[1791 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

was only 16. His will, signed 18. 12mo. 1703-4, witnessed 
by James Thomas, Nathan Thomas and John Roberts, Jr.,. 
was proved at Philadelphia 13 March following. He names 
sons John and Matthew Roberts, and daughter Rebecca; 
nephews Robert, Joseph and Edward Roberts, brothers Ed- 
ward and Matthew Roberts, and John Owen, his brother-in- 
law, to be executors, and appointed friends Thomas, Joha 
and Benjamin Humphrey, and brother-in-law Joshua. 
Owen,* overseers of his will. 

"John Roberts, of the Mill," who was buried at the Merion 
Meeting House, 27. 2mo. 1721, was his son. His will, "John 
Roberts, of Merion, wheelwright," was signed 22. 2. 1721, 
witnesses, John Vaughan, Owen Roberts (marked), and 
Robert Jones, was proved by his relict, (who was "possibly 
with child"), Hannah, 17 May, 1721, names aunt Ann Rob- 
erts, cousin Robert Roberts and sister Rebecca, overseers, 
brothers Matthew and Joseph, and step-father, Hugh Evans, 
and Robert Jones. It has been printed, but without proof,, 
that the "John Roberts, of Merion, miller," who was hung, 
in Philadelphia, by the order of the President of Pensylva- 
nia, for being a traitor to apparently both the British and 
the Americans, was a grandson of the aforesaid immigrant., 
John Roberts. Owen Roberts, a blacksmith, of Merion, 
was of this family. His will, signed 23 July, 1732, wit- 
nessed by Joseph Humphrey, John Bowen, and Robert Jones,, 
was proved 26 March, 1733. Names brothers Edward, Rob- 
ert, Joseph, William, and John ; cousin Ann Roberts, but no 
children ; a legacy to the Merion Meeting. His brothers exec- 
utors. 

Ann Humphrey, sister to Owen Humphrey aforesaid, mar- 
ried Ellis Rees ap Lewis, of Bryn Mawr, and was the mother 
of Rowland EUis, of "Bryn Mawr," Merion, 1686. Her 



♦Joshua Owen, of Llwyndu parish, MerionetJi, bachelor, had certifi- 
cate, dated 27. 5mo. 1683, from the Quarterly Mtg. at Dolyserry, 
■which he filed with the Haverford (or Radnor) Mo. Mtg., signed by 
Robert, Humphrey, and Richard Owen, Griffith and Owen LewiSr 
Rowland Ellis, Humphrey Reinald, etc. 

[180] 



COMPANY NUMBER FOUR 

brother Samuel Humphrey was the father of Daniel and 
Benjamin Humphrey, and three daughters. 

John ap John, of Plas Ifa, in Ruabon parish, Denbigh- 
shire, as has already been told, did not come to Pensylvania, 
and died 16. 9mo. 1697, at Whitehough Manor, in Stafford- 
shire, having long before disposed of all his Pensylvania 
lands. 

Thomas Wynne (or Gynn, fair haired), was called a 
"practitioner of physick" in an early mention of him. Wat- 
son, in his "Annals of Philadelphia," states that "Dr. 
Wynne was an eminent Welsh physician," who had "prac- 
ticed medicine several years with high reputation in Lon- 
don," and that his brother, also a physician, came over with 
him in 1682, but this brother is not clearly identified, unless 
he was the John Wynne, a lawyer in Sussex Co. (Del.), in 
1687, or was the "John Wynn, chyrurgeon," whose will was 
proved at Annapolis, Md., in 1684. But the latter may have 
been the son, or of the family, of Thomas Wynn (son of 
Gruffydd Wynn, of Bryn yr Owen (ap Richard John Wynn) , 
of Trefechan, near Wrexham, in Denbighshire, who was in 
Maryland as early as in 1671, and was a sub-sherifl", in 
1678, and doorkeeper of the House of Assembly, of Mary- 
land. 

In a pamphlet issued by Dr. Wynne, in 8mo. 1679, reply- 
ing to the attack, entitled "Work for a Cooper," by one Wil- 
liam Jones, on his defense of the antiquity of the Quakers, 
who challenged the claim of Dr. Wynne having any know- 
ledge of the practice of medicine and surgery, saying he was 
only a cooper by trade, and also "The Ale-Man, the Quack, 
and the Speaking Quaker," Dr. Wynne tells of his youth, 
and how he came to be called a physician and surgeon. He 
says, "my genius from a child had lead me to surgery, inso- 
much that before I was ten years old I several times over- 
ran my school and home when I heard of any one's being 
wounded, or hurt, and used all my endeavours then to set the 
■fractures and dislocations reduced and wounds dressed." 

[181] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

He says his father died before he was eleven years old^ 
(therefore, the Doctor could not have been identical with, 
Thomas, baptised 1 Feb. 1636, who had a brother John, both 
living in 1665, when their father, William Wynne's, a sonu 
of Sir John Wynne, of Gwydis, Bart., will was proved, as 
has been suggested), and left his family poor, and "mother 
not being able to produce so great a sum as to set me to- 
Chyrurgery, I betook myself to this honest and necessary- 
calling he upbraids me with," referring to his having learned 
the occupation and trade of cooper. "Yet, during all this 
time (while a coopers apprentice), I left no opportunity to 
inform myself in the practice of Chyrurgery, and continued 
this untill I became acquainted with an honest Friend and 
good Artist in Chyrurgery, whose name was Richard Moore,, 
of Salop, who, seeing my forwardness to Chyrurgery, did 
further me in it, and brought me to Defecations in Salop, the 
Anatomists being men of knowm worth in practice, whose 
names are Dr. Needham and Dr. Hallins." 

Continuing, he says, after he had learned enough and 
was able, with the assistance of Dr. Moore, "to set up a 
Skelliton of a man's bones," the afore-mentioned doctors 
"thought me fit to be licensed the practice of Chyrurgery^ 
and this is near 20 years ago." 

Shortly after being licensed to practice medicine and sur- 
gery, Dr. Wynne became too prominent in Quaker affairs,, 
and was arrested and imprisoned for six years in Denbigh- 
shire, and when released, he continues: "I betook myself 
wholly to the practice of Chyrurgery," and says he became 
a remarkable expert "in the use of the Plaister Box and Sal- 
vatory, the Trafine and Head Saw, the Amputation Sawj, 
and the Catling, the Cautery, Sirring and Catheter," . . . 
"to the great comfort of many, some of them desperately 
wounded by Gun Shots, others pierced thorow vdth Ra- 
piers." 

Coming over in the "Welcome" he must have been a busy 
doctor, as nearly all the passengers and the crew were taken 

[182] 



COMPANY NUMBER FOUR 

ill with the smallpox, and thirty were buried at sea en route 
for Pensylvania. One of the passengers executed his will, 
signed 19 Sept. 1682, which was proved at Philadelphia, 
and with its germs, is preserved in the office of the Register 
of Wills. It was vdtnessed by Dr. Wynne, who sealed with 
a coat of arms, "gules; a three-turreted castle, argent," 
which arms were his own, but only in American fashion, by 
adoption, as they were the arms of the first husband of his 
third wife, Joshua Maud. 

In connection with Dr. Wynne's professional life, we have 
from the minutes of the Quarterly Meeting of Merioneth- 
shire, Montgomeryshire, and Shropshire, which met "under 
the care of Charles Lloyd, Richard Davies, Thomas Lloyd, 
and Richard Moore," (familiar names in the Welsh Tract), 
at Dolobran, in 1668, that the said Richard Moore, of 
Shrewsbury, (who had been the instructor of Dr. Wynne), 
died in this year, leaving a son, Mordecai Moore, a minor 
and without money. For the love the Friends had for the 
lad's father, the Quarterly Meeting appointed a committee 
to learn what occupation would be suitable for him, and 
what he "had a taste for." The result was the committee 
found the "poor boy" had the desire to be a "chirurgeon 
Barber," so a collection was taken up at the Quarterly Meet- 
ing "to bind him as an apprentice to some reliable barber- 
surgeon." It was decided to send him as an apprentice for 
seven years to Thomas Wynne, of Caerwys, in Flintshire, 
and John ap John was instructed to see the arrangement 
was made, and the boy delivered to Mr. Wynne. Subse- 
quently, this boy came to Maryland, and married Deborah, 
a daughter of Gov. Thomas Lloyd, of Pensylvania. 

From this minute, we learn that Thomas Wynne, in 1668, 
was a barber-surgeon, or a barber who practiced surgery, 
and cupping and bleeding, with some knowledge of the use 
and effect of herbs, and from his own statement, that he 
never acquired the degree of M.D. from a university. 

[188] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

The place of the birth of Dr. Wynne, and his parentage 
is unknown, though it may possibly have been in Flintshire, 
where he resided, in 1682, at Bronvadog, near Caerwys.* 
The minutes of the Merion Preparative Meeting 5. llmo. 
1704, record that Dr. Edward Jones filed an account of Dr. 
Wynne, his parentage, home life, conversion, etc., but it has 
disappeared, otherwise we could know more of him. Dr. 
Wynne was probably one of John ap John's earliest converts 
to Quakerism, about 165 — , and became himself an accepted 
minister among the Welsh Friends. He published in 1677, 
when living at "Caerwys," near the palace of the Lord 
Bishop, a pamphlet, "The Antiquity of the Quakers," de- 
fending Friends' teachings. 

The full titles of this pamphlet, and that containing the 
abusive attack on it, both extant, are quaint, and of the man- 
ner of the time: — The Antiquity of the Quakers, Proved 
out of the Scriptures of Truth. Published in Love to the 
Papists, Protestants, Presbyterians, Independents, and Atia- 
baptists. With a Salutation of Pure Love to All the Tender- 
hearted Welshmen. But more especially to Flintshire, Den- 
bighshire, Caernarvonshire, and Anglesea. By their Coun- 
tryman and Friend, Thomas Wynne. Part of it is in Welsh, 
and "your real friend, Thomas Wynne," wrote it at "Carwys 
y mis yr ail dydd 1677." 

The title of Mr. Jones' effusion: — Work for a Cooper. 
Being an Answer to a Libel written by Tho Wynne the Coop- 



*If it is any suggestion as to the Doctor's ancestry, his son Jona- 
than named his seat in Blockley, "Wynnstay," or "Wynnestay," (i.e., 
Wynne's Field) , and there was an estate by this designation near 
Ruabon and Wrexham, in Denbighshire, in the Doctor's time, in which 
vicinity he resided prior to removal to Pensylvania. The late Howard 
Williams Lloyd had the parish Registers, and all the Wynne wills 
in Flintshire, that would possibly give a clue to the Doctor's ancestry, 
examined, but got only the information that at that period Wynne, 
sometimes Gwin, was a common name in North Wales. The most 
prominent family of the surname was that of Gwydir House, of 
which there is a printed history, and it was to this family that 
"Wynnstay" belonged. 

[184] 



COMPANY NUMBER FOUR 

€r, the Ale-Man, the Quack, and the Speaking Quaker. With 
a brief Account lioiu that Dissembling People differ at this 
Day from what at first they ivere. By one ivho abundantly 
pities their Ignorance and Folly. . London. Printed by J. C. 
for S. C, at the Prince of Wales Arms near the Royal Ex- 
change. MDCLXXIX. The writer thought the Doctor "is 
ignorant in his very trade of Quack * * * Chyrurgery," and 
that "he's much fitter to mind his Ax and saw, the Joynter, 
and the Adz, the Crisle, and the Head knife, the Spoak & 
the Round Shreve, the Dowling, and the Tapir Bitts, the 
Tap and Bungbore." This brought out a reply from the Doc- 
tor entitled: — An Anti-Christian Conspiracy Detected, and 
Satan's Champion Defeated. 

In 1682, he and Charles Lloyd (Co. No. 2), and Richard 
Davies, (Co. No. 7), who were subsequently also grantees, 
and "trustees" for large tracts of Pensylvania land, went to 
Whitehall, London, to see the Secretary of State, and inter- 
cede for the Friends of Bristol, who were being badly 
treated, and received a "fair promise." They themselves 
had known what it was to "suffer." Joseph Besse, in his 
book of "The Sufferings of the People Called Quakers," tells 
that Nathaniel Buttall, Bryan Sixsmith (draper), and 
Thomas Gwin, and others, "being met together in their own 
hired house at Wrexham [were] taken to the Common Goal 
at Writhen," in Dec. 1661. And at another time, when 
Thomas Wynn and 23 others "were on their way to the 
Meeting House at White Hart Court, [in London], they 
were arrested in Angel Court, and sent to prison." On 8. 
lOmo. they were tried at Guildhall, charged with "being 
guilty of a riotous assembly, with force and arms," in White 
Hart Court. All pleaded not guilty, as they had not yet 
been in White Hart Court, and were only passing through 
Angel Court. However, as both places were in the same 
ward, and a woman had preached in the street, they were 
all confined in Newgate till they raised the money to pay 
the fines. 

[185] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

He joined the Welshmen who went to London, in May, 
1681, to interview William Penn about his Pensylvania 
lands, and becoming interested himself, became a co-trustee, 
as said, with John ap John, for 5,000 acres, and from this 
time he was an intimate of the Proprietary for several years, 
and came over with him on the ship "Welcome," which 
sailed 30. 6mo. 1682, and arrived here in the 8mo. follow- 
ing, which was a memorable voyage for many reasons. 
There were upwards of 100 Quaker immigrants from Penn's 
home county, Sussex, on the ship. 

As to this voyage of ship "Welcome," the London Ga- 
zette, (No. 1752), in the issue of 31 Aug.— 4 Sept. 1682, 
printed this dispatch:— "Deal. Aug. 30th. [1682]. There 
are now in the downs, outward bound, two or three mer- 
chantships for Pensylvania." And, in issue of 4 Sept. — 7 
Sept. 1682. — "Deal, Sept. 2d. Two days since sailed out of 
the downs three ships bound for Pensilvania, on board of 
which was Mr. Pen, with a great many Quakers, who go to 
settle there." 

Here is an extract from a fictitious letter addressed to 
John Higginson, written in Oct. 1682, it was said, by the 
reputedly pious, Rev. Dr. Cotton Mather, of Boston : "There 
is now at sea a shipp (for our friend Elias Holcroft, of Lon- 
don, did advise me by the last packet that it would leave 
some time in August) , called the Welcome, which has aboard 
it a hundred or more of the hereticks and malignants called 
Quakers, with William Penn, the scamp, at the head of them. 
The General Court has accordingly given instructions to 
Master Michael Haxett, of the brig Porpoise, to waylay said 
Welcome as near the end of Cod [Cape Cod, Mass.], as may 
be, and make capture of Penn and his ungodly crew, so that 
the Lord may be glorified and not mocked on the soil of this 
new country with the heathen worshipps of these people. 
Much spoil may be made by selling the whole lot to Barba- 
does, where slaves fetch good prices in rumme and sugar." 
Signed : "Yours in the bonds of Christ, Cotton Mather." 

[186] 



COMPANY NUMBER FOUR 

This alleged "extract" created considerable of a sensa- 
tion when it was started on the rounds of the newspapers. 
It was thought it would not have been beneath this devine 
to take such a fling at the Quakers, therefore the letter, 
which was addressed to Rev. Mr. Higginson, "at New 
Port," (Rhode Island), was believed to be genuine. But, 
after investigators failed to see, or locate such a letter, 
and on making the discovery that Mr. Higginson was not 
then living at Newport, but was then established as the 
minister at Salem, Mass., and knowing that Mather was 
then only 19 years old, the story of the attempt to kidnap 
Mr. Penn was pronounced a fake, when several people had 
the assurance to come forward and each claim, for the fame 
there was in it, to have been the perpetrator of the "joke 
on the historians." 

It may be presumed that Dr. Wynne passed his first win- 
ter here with Penn, at Upland and at New Castle, looking 
after the small-pox patients, and accompanied him to New 
York and to Baltimore, on business trips, taking as many of 
the germs along as possible. 

He was chosen by Penn as a member, and his representa- 
tive possibly, in the first preliminary assembly of delegate* 
from the settlements on the Delaware and Schuylkill, held 
at Upland, 4. lOmo. 1682, and was appointed a member of 
the committee to "petition" Penn for a constitution for his 
Province. And when the first organized Assembly was held 
in Philadelphia 12. Imo. 1682-3, he was chosen one of the 
members to represent Philadelphia Co. in it, possibly by the 
Welsh, and was selected speaker at the first meeting. 

He was present at the first Monthly Meeting of Friends^ 
held in Philadelphia, on 9. llmo. 1682-3, and was appointed 
of the committee to select and secure the site for the Phila- 
delphia Meeting House, in Second street, and was a member 
of the building committee. 

It is claimed that his brick dwelling in the west side of 
Front Street, above Chestnut Street, was the first brick 

[187] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

house erected in the town. The street now called Chestnut 
was originally called Wynne. 

In the 6mo. of 1684, he went to England on a business 
matter, probably with William Penn, in the ketch "En- 
deavour," sailing from Philadelphia 12. 6mo. 1684, and, on 
his return, went to Lewes to reside, which then was a more 
desirable place than Philadelphia for a residence. Here he 
became a justice of Sussex County, in 3mo. 1687, and a rep- 
resentative of that county in the Assembly, 3mo. 1688. 

He died while attending a meeting of the Assembly, in 
Philadelphia, on 16. Imo. 1692, and was buried the next day 
in the Friends' ground, Philadelphia. His will, dated 16. 
Imo. 1691-2, was proved at Philadelphia 20. 2mo. 1692, the 
overseers named being Thomas Lloyd, the Dep. Gov., and 
Dr. Griffith Owen, the Provincial Councillor. He named his 
wife, Elizabeth, his brother-in-law, Samuel Buttall, (to 
whom he owed £25), and his children as below. The only 
land he mentioned was what he owned at Lewes, valued at 
£80, which went to his wife and then to son Jonathan, to 
whom he also gave 200 acres on Cedar Creek, Sussex Co., 
valued at £20. His personalty amounted to £430. 1. 3., 
including 3 negroes, valued at £60, and one "servant." 

According to the Minutes of the Provincial Council, 6 Oct. 
1693, Charles Pickering (who had been convicted of passing 
counterfeit money in Philadelphia, by the first Court, see 
Minute of 28. 8. 1683), "in behalf of the widdow Wynne, 
having preferred a pe'tion to the Leivt. Governor and Coun- 
cil, setting forth that her Husband, Thomas Wynne, Late of 
Sussex Countie, deceased, had been Sumoned to the Court of 
New Castle, to ans'r the Complaint of Adam Short and oth- 
ers. But falling sick, dyed 3 or 4 hours befor Judgm't past 
ag't him, att the said Court, and that the originall proces ag't 
her husband was by a wrong name, and therefore requested 
that the execu'on be stopt, and that the pe'tionr have a fair 
tryall." The clerk's record of the New Castle Court being 
produced, and it was found the petitioner's husband's name 

[188] 



COMPANY NUMBER FOUR 

was written "Thomas Guin." The Council ordered the mat- 
ter before the next Provincial Court to be held for Sussex 
Co., and that in the meantime execution be suspended. 

Dr. Thomas Wynne* was married three times. He mar- 
ried first, possibly at Wrexham, Denbighshire, Martha But- 
tall, about 1655-57, by Morgan Lloyd, who sent John ap John 
to "try out" Fox's teaching. She was the sister of Jonathan 
Buttall, sugar baker, of the Surry side of the Thames, and 
was named, with her brother Samuel, in his will, signed 26 
Aug. 1695. Her issue was to be his heirs on failure of his 
own. She died about 1670, and is presumed to have been 
the mother of all of Dr. Wynne's children. 

Dr. Wynne married secondly, a widow named Rowden, 
who by her first husband was the mother of Elizabeth, who 
m. in Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, 5. 6mo. 1684, John 
Brock, of Philadelphia. She died in 1675-6. 

Dr. Wynne married thirdly, 20. 5mo. 1676 (record of 
Monthly Meeting of Hardshaw East, in Lancashire) , Elisa- 
beth Parr, widow of Joshua Maud, who survived him. 
When he married her, who came to Pensylvania with him, 
he was living at Caerwys, Flintshire. Her daughter, Mar- 
gery Maud, married at Lewes, Thomas Fisher, a quibus 
Fisher family of Philadelphia. 

He married Elizabeth Maud, or Mode, of Rainhill, Lan- 
cashire, at the dwelling of John Chorley, and among the 
signers of their certificates were John and Alice Barnes; 
Bruen, William, and Ester Sixmith; Samuel, Alice, and 
Margaret Dunbabin ; John, Alice, and Mary Southworth. 

But his wife, Elizabeth, did not come in the same ship with 
the Doctor. According to the extant log, 6. 7mo. to 21. 8mo. 
1682, of the "Submission," one of the vessels which sailed 
with the "Welcome," she was a passenger on that ship, and 
was accompanied by her daughters, Jane and Margery, 
whose surnames appears as "Mode," and the Doctor's daugh- 
ter, Rebecca Wynne. 



*See further as to Dr. Wynne, in the Philadelphia Friend, vol. 
XXVII, p. 228. 

[189] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

By deed of 3. 3mo. 1688, Dr. Wynne bought for his wife, 
an island in "the Broad Kill Marshes," in the Schuylkill, 
near its mouth. After his death, his relict, by deed of gift 
dated 1. 12mo. 1693, conveyed this island, which, on survey 
of 5mo. 1701, contained 175 acres, to her daughter, Mar- 
gery, and husband, Thomas Fisher, and then it became 
known as Fisher's Island, but subsequently was called Prov- 
ince Island, and was the location of hospitals. 

Of the children of Dr. Wynne* by his first wife, 

Jonathan Wynne, only son and heir. It is not known when, 
nor where he was born, nor how old he was when he came to 
Pensylvania, and it is only presumed he was the youngest 
child, and that he came with his father, either on his first 
trip in the "Welcome," or his subsequent trip. 

We have seen that Jonathan was to receive, after his step- 
mother's death, the homestead near the town of Lewes, and 
200 acres on Cedar Creek, in Sussex Co., (Del.). After his 
father's death, he began investigating both the land transac- 
tions of "John & Wynne," and his father's personal opera- 
tions in the Welsh Tract. 

He made it out that only 1,850 acres of the 2,500 acres of 
his father's land had been located and sold by him, and that 



*These are some of the many present-day descendants of Dr. 
Thomas Wynne: 

Mrs. Stevenson Crothers. Mrs. Thomas Stewardson. 

Mrs. Henry Kuhl Dillard. Frank Foulke. 

Mrs. Henry B. Robb. Abraham L. Smith. 

Mrs. Charles F. Hulse. Benj. Hayes Smith. 

Miss Elizabeth Moser Jones. Joseph A. Steinmetz. 

Mrs. Jawood Lukens. Charles Williams. 

Mrs. Arthur V. Meigs. J. Randall Williams. 

Mrs. Charles Richardson. Rodman Wister. 

Mrs. George B. Roberts. Alexander W. Wister. 

Mrs. S. Bowman Wheeler. Miss Martha Morris Brown. 

Mrs. Howard Comfort. Mrs. Robert R. Corson. 

William Penn Humphreys. Mary Hollingsworth Stewardson. 

All of the descendants of John Cadwalader, 1677-1734, are descend- 
ants of Dr. Wynne: 

[190] 



COMPANY NUMBER FOUR 

there was thus 650 acres due him, besides 50 acres of the 
Liberty lands, as bonus; this besides the 100 acres due on 
the joint account, mentioned above. He went before the 
Land Commissioners, Edward Shippen, Griffith Owen and 
James Logan, 18. 4mo. 1705, and presented his claim, as he 
understood it. 

The decision of the Commission as to the 100 acres was 
made as above, and from the Surveyor General's office it 
found that 2,125 acres of Dr. Wynne's 2,500 acres could be 
accounted for. That is, he had sold to Thomas Taylor 500 
acres, to John Bevan 300 acres, to Richard Orme 150 acres, 
to Humphrey Bettly 125 acres, to Richard Crosby 500 acres, 
and to Gary Southworth 300 acres, and had retained for 
himself 250 acres in Radnor. The Commission also found 
some evidence that the Doctor had sold some land to Roger 
Andrews and to Trial Rider, but not the amount. 

Of the Doctor's 250 acres, in Radnor, the Commission 
learned that it was confirmed to him by patent, dated 29. 
5mo. 1684, and that, of this land, he had sold 200 acres to 
Howel James, of Radnor, by deed of 9. lOmo. 1687 (who 
sold 100 acres out of the tract to David Evan, and 100 acres 
to his son, William James, who also sold to David Evan, by 
deed, dated 26. llmo. 1689), and had conveyed the balance, 
50 acres, to Hugh Williams. 

The Commissioners decided to throw out the possible sales 
to Andrews and Rider, after investigating for two years, 
and in 7mo. 1707, and granted a warrant to Jonathan for 
400 acres even, which he was authorized to lay out in the 
Welsh Tract if possible, that is, if he could find so much un- 
taken land therein. "The Commission considered that Dr. 
Wynne's son had all, and more, that was coming to him from 
his father's grant," was its recorded opinion. This land, 
400 acres, was finally laid out in the Chester Valley. 

As to the 50 acres of Liberty land, claimed due by Jona- 
than to complete his father's purchase, the Commission 
found out that his brother-in-law. Dr. Edward Jones, of 
Merion, had acquired, in some way not revealed, 10 acres of 

[191] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

it, so a warrant for 40 acres only of this choice land was 
given him, which was laid out to him in the Liberty lands, 
or Blockley tp., southeast of the present settlement of Bala, 
just without the township of Merion. Here Jonathan 
erected a stone house, which he named "Wynnestay," after 
the Welsh seat mentioned, or, as is also said, "Wynne Stay," 
for he proposed to stay here till he died, which he did. The 
property remained in the possession of this Wynne family 
till after the close of the Revolutionary War. Since that time 
it has passed through the hands of several owners, and sev- 
eral years ago was completely "remodelled." In September, 
1910, it was leased for Miss Hannah Smedley to Mr. Alvin 
Ehret. 

Jonathan also was granted a lot, 60 by 300 feet, in High 
(Market) street, in the city, due also on account of his 
father. This he devised to two of his daughters, Hannah 
and Mary, to be equally divided between them. He devised 
to his other three daughters, minors, 400 acres in The Great 
Valley, "Great Meadows," or Chester Valley, where he had 
also acquired by purchase 500 acres which he divided be- 
tween his sons, Thomas and John. 

The will of "Jonathan Wynne, of Blockley, yeoman," 
dated 29 Jan. 1719, was proved 17 May, 1721, by his wife, 
Sarah. Overseers appointed, "brother-in-law Edward Jones 
and Daniel Humphreys" ; if they died before him, then John 
Cadwalader and Jon. Jones. The witnesses were Rowland 
Ellis, Thomas Jones, and Edward Jones. He was buried at 
the Merion Meeting House, 28. 12mo. (Feb.) 1720-1. His 
widow, Sarah, was also buried here, 27. 2mo. 1744. He had 
by his wife, Sarah, whose surname has not been preserved, 
(unless it was Graves, or Greave, as there is reason to be- 
lieve), married possibly at Lewes, about 1700-1, eight chil- 
dren mentioned in his will, and a son James, who was brriod 
at the Merion Meeting House, 24. 8mo. 1714, namely, 
Thomas, his heir, who was to have the homestead (near 
Bala) after his mother's death, John, Jonathan, Hannah, 
Mary, Sidney, Martha and Elizabeth. 

[192] 



COMPANY NUMBER FOUR 

Mary Wynne, who m. Dr. Edward Jones, of Merion. Issue. 

Rebecca Wynne, who m. first, at the Third Haven Friends' 
Meeting, in Talbot Co., Md., in 3mo. 1685, Solomon Thomas 
who d. s. p. . She to. secondly, 23. 7mo. 1692, John Dickinson, 
of Talbot Co., an uncle of Samuel Dickinson, son-in-law of 
John Cadwalader. 

Sidney Wynne, who to. in Anne Arundel Co., Md., 20. 
lOmo. 1690, William Chew, son of Samuel Chew, of this 
county. 

Hannah Wynne, who m. at the Merion Meeting, 25. 8mo. 
1695, Daniel Humphreys, son of Samuel and Elizabeth Hum- 
phreys, of Merion. 

Tibitha Wynne, who never came over here, but died in 
England, after 1692. 



[193] 




RELATIVE POSITIONS OF THE MERION AND HAVERFORD MEETING HOUSES, 
AND THE THOMAS AND JONES LAND. 



LEWIS DAVID'S LAND PATENT 

Company No. 5. The 3,000 acres of land subscribed for 
by "Lewis David, husbandman, of Llandewy Velfry," in 
Pembrokeshire, and conveyed to him by deeds, dated 2 
March, 1681, for which he paid £60, were taken, under deeds, 
dated in May, 1682, by the following: 

William Howell, Castlebigch, Pembroke, yeoman, 500 
acres. 

Henry Lewis, Narbeth, Pembroke, yeoman, 1,000 acres. 

Rees Rothers (Rotheroe), Lanwenog, Cardigan, yeoman, 
600 acres. 

Evan Thomas, Lanykeaven, Pembroke, yeoman, 250 acres. 

Lewis David retained 750 acres for himself. (24 Oct. 
1681.) 

His deed from Penn was similar to those of the other 
"adventurers for land;" — land was to be set out "as pro- 
vided for in the Concessions, or Constitucons, bearing date 
of 11th July last past," 1681, "to be holden in free and com- 
mon socage of him, the said William Penn, as of the signory 
of Windsore," etc. His deeds to his sundry purchasers, or 
co-partners, were also, as those of the other adventurers, 
very explicit as to the tenure, citing the grant of King 
Charles to Penn, and the latter to Lewis David. In these, he 
was described as "gentleman." Lewis David was buried at 
the Merion Meeting, 2. Imo. 1707-8. 

On 16. 12mo. 1701, the following, being grantees, "in 
the right of Lewis David," of the original company, had their 
purchases resurveyed and confirmed to them: 

Henry Thomas, 400 acres, and 180 acres, in Haverford tp. 

John Lewis, Sen., 350 acres in Haverford tp. 

John Lewis, Jr., 100 acres in Haverford tp. 

Richard Hayes, 260 acres in Haverford tp. 

[195] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

John David Thomas, 210 acres in "Duffein Mawr" tp. 
Maurice Llewellyn, 420 acres in Haverford. 
David Rees, 260 acres in Haverford. 
David Hugh, 220 acres in Haverford. 
Nathan Thomas, 81 acres in Haverford, and "100 acres 
in the upper end of the Welsh Tract." 

These further details of Lewis David's purchase are from 
the "Welsh Minutes" of the Commissioners of Pensylvania 
land. 

He took for himself 750 acres, but by deed of 10 May, 
1682, he sold 250 to "Maurice Skurfield," or "Scourfield," 
who by deed 22 April, 1699, sold the same to Owen Thomas, 
who by deed, 15. llmo. 1701, sold same to Ralph Lewis. 

William Howel, had deed, dated 10 May, 1682, witnessed 
by Daniel Humphrey, Rees Henten, and Humphrey Ellis, 
for 500 acres, which he had laid out in Haverford tp. and 
Marple tp. He sold 200 acres in Marple to Jonathan Hayes, 
and by deed of 29. 3. 1697, sold 220 acres in Haverford, 
to David Hugh. On his own right, and on account of Evan 
Thomas, whose widow he married, he had 15 acres of the 
Liberty land, in 1702. Howel sold his 10 acres Liberty land 
to Benj. Chambers. 

Henry Lewis bought by deed, dated 10 May, 1682, 1,000 
acres, for which he paid £25. Witnessed by the above wit- 
nesses, and William Howell. Part of the tract was laid out 
in Haverford. His 20 acres of Liberty land, or bonus, he 
sold to John Ball. He sold, by deed of 6. 12mo. 1684, 250 
acres in Haverford to John Lewis, who also had 100 acres, 
bought of William Rowe, who had same from Thomas Ellis, 
in Haverford. His son, Henry Lewis, Jr., by deed, 8. Imo. 
1694-5, conveyed 100 acres to John Lewis, Jr. Henry, Jr., 
also conveyed by deed of 12, Imo. 1694-5, to Richard Hayes, 
Sr., 50 acres, who had 50 acres, bought of William Howel, 
and 160 acres from John Burge.* 



♦Filed with the Haverford (or Radnor) Mo. Mtg. about 1684-5, 
is the certificate, undated, of "Allice Lewis, daughter of James Lewis, 

[196] 



COMPANY NUMBER FIVE 

Henry Lewis, Jr., having right to 180 acres in the Welsh 
Tract, on his father's account, and 79 acres, bought of John 
Burge, had same laid out in the Great Valley. On resurvey, 
this 259 acres was found to be 352 acres, or allowing 25 
acres, he had 248 acres there, 68 acres being over-plus. He 
also had 50 acres over-plus in Haverford, on his 400 acres. 
He bought the "overs." 

Henry Lewis, is probably the best known of this company. 
He resided at "Maencoch," as he called his seat, or planta- 
tion, 250 acres in Haverford. He and his wife, Margaret, 
removed from Narberth, in Pembroke, in 1682. "As a 
member of the Religious Society of Friends, he was strict 
in the performances of his duties, and, during the short pe- 
riod in which he lived after reaching his new home, he de- 
voted much of his time to civil affairs, and acts of benevo- 
lence." Before the establishment of the Haverford Monthly 
Meeting, in 1684, he belonged to the Monthly Meeting of 
Philadelphia, and was by that Meeting appointed one of a 
committee "to visit the poor and sick, and administer what 
they should judge convenient, at the expense of the Meet- 
ing." He held the office of "peace maker" for the county of 
Philadelphia, and was foreman of the first Grand Jury for 
that county. His will, signed 6. 14. 1688, witnessed by 
Lewis David, Griffith Owen, and Thomas Ellis, all well 
known gentlemen, was proved in Philadelphia on 8. 8. 1705. 

He was a carpenter by trade, and owned a house and two 
lots in Philadelphia. He left his homestead to his wife, Mar- 
garet, and desired that, after her death, their sons, Henry 
Lewis, Jr., and Lewis Lewis, should have it. He provided 
for his son Samuel, and daughter Elizabeth, who married, in 
3mo. 1697, Richard Hayes, Jr., of Haverford. 



of Llardevy, Pembrokeshire," saying she "is clear from all men on 
ye acc't of Marriage." Signed by Alice, Margaret and Lewis Mus- 
grave, Mary Morce, Mary Bowen, Mary and Henry Smith, Deborah 
Weston, Margaret and James Sko'ne, Henry and Jone Hilling, Letice 
Pardo, James, Mary, and James Lewis, Jr., Anthony Tounson, Thomas 
Marchant, William Garret, John Perrot, and David Morgan. 

[197] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

His father, Richard Hays, Sr.> mentioned above, made 
his will 4. 8mo. 1697, which was witnessed by William Jen- 
kins, Adam Roades, William Howell, Henry and Samuel 
Lewis, and proved 30 Oct. 1697, leaving his estate to his 
wife Issat, and then after her decease to his son and heir, 
Richard Hayes, Jr. He gave legacies to his son John, and 
"cousin Sarah James," and to the Haverford Meeting. Trus- 
tees named : David Lawrence and Rowland Powell. Richard 
and Isatt were "aged Friends," when they removed from 
Pembrokeshire, to Haverford, in 1687. Their son, Richard, 
Jr., resided on the farm first taken. "Having received a bet- 
ter education than was usual among the early emigrants, 
and being withal a man of excellent business qualifications, 
he was almost constantly kept in some public employment, 
yet he managed his pecuniary affairs to great profit and ad- 
vantage." In company with David Morris and Samuel 
Lewis, Richard Hayes, Jr., erected, about 1707, a mill on 
Darby Creek, which for a long time was known as "Haver- 
ford New Mill," but now called Leedom's Mill. He con- 
ducted the mill at the time of his death, and for many years 
before, on his own account. He was a justice of the Courts 
of Chester Co., a member of the Assembly for seven years, 
and for years was one of the commissioners of the Loan 
Office. His children were Joseph, Mary, Hannah, Richard 
3d and Benjamin. 

The daughter Hannah Hayes m. at Haverford Meeting, 
10. Bmo. 1727, James Jones, 6. in Wales, 31. 3mo. 1699, a 
son of David and Katherine Jones, who came over in 1700, 
and settled on their purchase, 350 acres, in Blockley, bring- 
ing certificate from the Monthly Meeting at Hendri Mawr, 
dated 24. 12mo. 1699, signed by Robert Vaughan, Cadwala- 
der Ellis, Evan Rees, Thomas Richards, Rowland Owen, Ed- 
ward David, Owen Lewis, Thomas Cadwalader and John 
Robert, and a certificate from the Men's Meeting, in Haver- 
ford West, dated 4. Imo. 1699-00. David Jones was one 
of the first that was appointed an Elder in the Haverford 

[198] 



COMPANY NUMBER FIVE 

Meeting, "He conducted faithfull, and was approved of, in 
good esteem to his dying day, which was the 27. 6mo. 1725, 
and was buried at Merion." His wife, Katharine, appears 
from the minutes of the Haverford Monthly Meeting to have 
been called into active service in the Meeting almost imme- 
diately after arrival in this country. 

Richard, Jr.'s son Benjamin Hayes, m. at the Merion 
Meeting, 2. lOmo. 1737, Mary, 6. 14. 5mo. 1707, daughter of 
Jonathan Jones (son of Dr. Edward Jones, of Merion), and 
Gainor Owen, and had Elizabeth, b. 16. 7mo. 1738. 

Evan Thomas, who bought by deed, witnessed by Hannah 
Hardiman, Mary Phillpin, and Henry Lewis, 10 May, 1682, 
250 acres, died and left his rights to his children, Daniel 
Evan, or Evans, and Mary, and his widow, Mary, (who re- 
married Wilham Howel), who sold it. By deed, 22 Aug. 
1700, they sold 75 acres to Nathan Thomas, and 170 acres 
to John Bevan. 

Rees Rothers, or Rytharch, Rutrach and Rotheroe, who 
bought for £10, by deed, dated 10. 3mo. 1682, witnessed by 
Samuel Rees, Tho. Ellis, David Lawrence, George Painter, 
John Humphrey and Morris Llewellyn, 500 acres in Haver- 
ford tp., sold 120 acres, by deed, dated 12. lOmo. 1692, to 
Thomas Rees. Next day, he transferred the same to Wil- 
liam Lewis, who, by deed of gift, 6 Jan. 1700-1, gave the 
same, with 125 acres he had bought of John Bevan, to his 
son, David Lewis, who subsequently bought 100 acres from 
Morris Llewellyn, in Haverford. Rytharch also sold 100 
acres to George Painter, and, by deed, 6. 8mo. 1695, he con- 
veyed 30 acres to Maurice Llewellyn (who held 390 acres 
more in Merion, being part of his father's original 500 
acres), bought by deed dated 20 Jan. 1681, (100 acres had 
been sold to David Lewis) . The balance of Rytharch's land 
lay in Dyffrin Mawr tp., and of this, he sold 210 acres to 
John David Thomas. 

Of Lewis David's balance of 500 acres, and 10 acres of 
liberty land, ("sold to B. Chambers"), he sold 260 acres 

[199] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

in Haverford to "Peregr. Musgrove," who by deed, 14 Nov. 
1699, sold the same to Samuel Lewis, who by deed, 21 
March, 1699-1700, sold same to David ap Rees (Prees, or 
Price), whose son, John Price, inherited it. (Burials at 
Merion Meeting, Gwenllen, wife of David Price, 6. 20. 1715, 
and Hannah, wife of David Price, 10. 13. 1727). 

Lewis David also sold 30 acres in Haverford, by deed 28 
Feb. 1691-2, to William Jenkins, (on account of 250 acres 
William Jenkins bought of John Poyer, — the Lewis David 
lands, — he had 5 acres of Liberty land in 1702), who 
by deed, 24. 6mo. 1698-9, conveyed the same to WilHam 
Rowe, together with 30 acres he had from John Poyer, out 
of his 250 acre tract he bought of John & Wynne. William 
Rowe's executors, Rowland Ellis and Thomas Paschall, by 
deed of 8. 9mo. 1700, conveyed two lots of 30 acres each to 
Daniel Humphreys. The will of William Rowe, marked 8. 
3mo. 1699, in the presence of John Roberts, Daniel Hum- 
phreys, and Lewis Waker, was proved 1 July, 1699. His 
wife, un-named, was living. He bequeathed his estate to 
his daughter, Grace Rowe, and legacies to the Haverford 
Meeting, to David Lawrence and Rowland Howell. Names 
guardians for daughter, John Lewis, David Maurice, and 
Henry Lewis. 

By the usual deeds of lease and release, dated 24. and 25. 
Oct. 1681, William Penn conveyed to William Jenkin, or 
Jenkins, "a Friend who had suffered," of Tenby, in Pem- 
broke, 1,000 acres of land. Of this grant, Jenkins conveyed 
500 acres to Francis Howell, of Llancilio, in Caermarthen, 
by deed of 1 Sept. 1686, which tract was laid out to him in 
Duffryn Mawr, or Whiteland tp., in Chester Co. The bal- 
ance of the grant was also located in Duffryn Mawr and laid 
out to Jenkins, who conveyed 250 acres of it, by deed of 30 
Sep. 1686, to James Thomas. But when Jenkins removed to 
Pensylvania, about 1686, he settled on the 250 acres which 
he bought of John Poyer, 13 July, 1686, in Haverford. About 
1698, William Jenkins removed into Abington tp., then in 

[200] 



COMPANY NUMBER FIVE 

Philadelphia Co., and Jenkintown was named for him. In 
1691, he was a justice in Chester Co., and in 1690 and 1695, 
a member of the Assembly. He died 7. 4mo. 1712, aged 54 
years, having married, 2. 7mo. 1673, at Tenby, Elizabeth 
Lewis, died 14. 9mo. 1711, daughter of Lewis Griffith. The 
births of their four children are recorded at the South Wales 
Monthly Meeting. Of these, Margaret, b. 23. 3mo. 1674, to. 
at Haverford Meeting, 15. 9mo. 1692 (first wife), Thomas 
Paschall, Jr., of Chester Co., and had eleven children, dr 
17. llmo. 1728; and Stephen Jenkins, 1690-1761, to. at the 
Abington Meeting, 14. 9mo. 1704, Abigail, a minister among 
the Friends, who d. 2. 9mo. 1750, daughter of Phineas Pem- 
berton, of Bucks Co., Pa., and had seven children. 

Lewis David also sold, 5. 9mo. 1691, 10 acres, and 30. 3mo. 
1700, a lot and grist mill, in Haverford tp., which he held 
with Humphrey Ellis, to William Howel. 

Lewis David also held about 190 acres in Dyffrin Mawr tp. 

Morris Llewellyn, of Haverford, mentioned above, 
bought by deed dated 1. 1. 1697-8, for £100, a tract of 500 
acres, in Haverford, from the estate of Nathaniel Pennock, 
(who died 15. lOmo. 1697), the heir to George Collet, of 
Philadelphia, a glover, who had bequeathed this right, in 
lOmo. 1686, to Nathaniel, a minor. The said Nathaniel died 
unmarried, and his father, Christopher Pennock, adminis- 
tered his estate, and conveyed the right to the 500 acres to 
Llewellyn, This land was a portion of 5,000 acres Penn 
had sold, 14. 6mo. 1682, to Joshua Holland, of Chattam, 
Kent, mariner, whose son, John Holland, of same place, a 
shipwright, had power of attorney to sell 1,000 acres, and 
therefore sold 500 acres "on West side of river Schuylkil," 
for £25, by deed of 13. 3mo. 1685, to said George Collet. 

The oldest land corner-stone extant, (discovered by Sam- 
uel M. Garrigues, surveyor, of Bryn Mawr, in 1889), is on 
the line of Hannah Llewellyn, to whom descended some of 
this land, and land of Haverford College, on the north side 
of Cobb's Creek. This stone, set up in 1683, probably by 

[201] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Morris Llewellyn, as a deputy surveyor, approximates the 
date of ownership of land here by the Llewellyns, and 
marked the corner of the land of Thomas Ellis, on the south, 
David Llewellyn, on the west, and Morris Llewellyn, on the 
east, as on the east face of the stone is cut C — D M L, and 
on the west face C — MDLL — TE — 1683. 

Morris Llewellyn's 420 acres in Haverford were surveyed 
to 490 acres, before 16. 12mo. 1701, when he requested of 
the Commissioners warrant for the usual bonus of 10 acres 
of the Liberty land, which was granted, and ordered sur- 
veyed to him. 

Before the Land Commissioners, 27. 8mo. 1712, "Mau- 
rice Llewelljm" produced a deed from James Thomas, of 
Merion, conveying to him 100 acres in Merion, whereon the 
said James and his father had been seated. On official sur- 
vey it was learned there were 137 acres in this place. But 
when his brother David Llewellyn, surveyed it, he found only 
30 acres over, so MoiTis, taking benefit of all doubt, agreed 
to pay £15, "at the next Spring Fair of Philadelphia," for 
27 acres. The chain of title for this land starts with Penn's 
sale to Davies, and his conveyance by deed, 10. 6mo. 1686, 
to one Steel, of Llancillis parish, in Caermarthanshire, and 
Ellis Ellis, of Haverford, for 410 acres in Merion, 

Of this there were conveyed 10 acres to Thomas Ellis, 100 
to Francis Howel, 100 to Morgan^Davis, 100 to Francis 
Lloyd, and 100 to James Thomas, of Merion, who gave it 
to the said James Thomas, his son, (subsequently of Whit- 
land tp., Chester Co.), who sold as above to Morris Llewel- 
lyn, of Haverford, by deed of 9 Feb. 1708-9. 

Francis Howel devised his 100 acres, 15. Imo. 1695, to 
his brother, Thomas Howell, who by deed dated 17 June, 
1708, for five shillings and natural affection conveyed the 
land to the aforesaid Morris Llewellyn. The old farm house 
of the Llewellyns, called "Castle Br'th," is still standing. 

The will of "Francis Howell, of Merion, yeoman," signed 
15. 1. 1695, proved 25 Sep. 1696, names wife Margaret sole 
executrix, names brother Thomas Howell, and sisters Eliza- 

[202] 



COMPANY NUMBER FIVE 

beth, Margaret, Mary and Susan Howell. Legacy to James 
Mortimer. Witnesses, John Bevan, William Howell and 
John Humphreys. 

The will of his wife, and relict, Margaret Howell, of 
Merion, was marked in the presence of Edward Jones, David 
Habard (or Havard), and John Humphreys, 12 Sep. 1696, 
and proved 25 Sep. following. She names brother James 
Mortimer, nephew James Mortimer, sister Margaret 
Thomas, cousin Betty Thomas, brothers-in-law David Jones 
and David (Haubot?), cousin James and lega- 
cies to Lewis David, John Hastings, Katherine Pris, her 
maid servant, "the residue of her time to be free," to Lewis 
Waker, to my negro, to John Simons, Nathan Thomas,* Owen 
Thomas, John, William, and Ann Habart (Habard), Eliza- 
beth and Katherine Thomas, Betty and Margaret Lewis, 
David Pugh, Mary Waker, John Pris, Mary, wife of Benja- 
min Humphrey, and her son John Humphrey, Mary, wife 
of David Morris, and to John Humphrey, Sr., and Jr. Lega- 
cies also to the "Meeting Houses of Merion and Haverford." 
Executors, Morris Llewellyn and James Thomas, Jr. 

1713, 22. 5mo., the Commissioners confirmed his land to 
Morris Llewellyn, amounting to three lots, 100, 130, and 
400 acres — bought of Lewis David, gent. 



*The will of "Nathan Thomas, of Merion, yeoman," signed 6. 2mo. 

1710, witaesses, Thomas Howell and David Evan, was proved 4 Aug. 

1711. He mentions his mother, Margaret Thomas, and "grandmother 
Thomas," brother Owen Thomas, sisters Katherine Pearson, and Eliza- 
beth Thomas, cousins Thomas and Mary Pearson, and John and 
Nathan Thomas. 

[203] 



T cr LX £3 w A-n.:r) s 




HAVERFORD TP- EAST OF THE "STREET," 1690. 



ADVENTURERS FOR LANDS IN 
HAVERFORD AND RADNOR 



RICHARD THOMAS'S LAND PATENT 

Company No. 6 — The purchasers of the 5,000 acres of 
land for which Richard ap Thomas, of Whiteford Game, 
subscribed, were not many, and his adventure appears to 
have been unprofitable. His heir had about the same trou- 
ble, as Dr. Wynne's had, in getting his father's land. 

From the Commissioners' Minutes 2. 12mo., 1701, we 
learn that Penn, by deed dated 24th of July, 1681, for £100, 
conveyed to Richard ap Thomas 5,000 acres, to be laid out 
"in the Welsh Tract," "of which none has been laid out 
Saving 600 acres on part of l.SOO Acres laid out to [Wil- 
liam] Wood and [William] Sharlow" [or Shardlow, Share- 
low, Sherlo, etc.] . This, of course, was "not approv'd of by 
the Commis'rs". and the "100 Acres of Lib. Land [due, was] 
taken up by Hugh Roberts." At this Meeting "his Son and 
Heir, Richard ap Thomas, therefore requets Warr'ts to take 
up the said Land in the Welsh Tract." 

"The said Richard haveing been a Verry great Sufferer by 
his Father's embarquing for this Province, and deceasing 
before, or upon his Arrival, by which means he has been 
reduced to great hardships, 'tis Ordered that a War't be 
forthwith granted to take up 2,000 A's of Vacant land where 
to be found in the said Tract, and that War'ts be also Issued 
for the remainder as fast as he can be accommodated." This 
was a very fair accommodation all things considered. But 
on 2. 3mo. 1704, he was assessed the quitrent to run "from 
the first laying out of the Welsh Tract." Before 7mo. 1702, 
Philip Howel bought 700 acres from said Richard. 

As to the 100 acres in the City Liberties, they were sur- 
veyed, 4. 7mo. 1701, "in pursuance of the Proprietor's War- 
rant, dated 8. llmo. 1700," to Hugh Roberts, to whom pat- 
ent for same was issued by the Commissioners 24 Nov. 1701. 

[207] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

This land was located "upon the Indian Creek and the Mill 
Creek (Cobbs Creek), in Blockley tp., near Adam Rhode's 
Land," "in Right of Richard Thomas, first Purchaser of 
5,000 Acres." 

Richard Thomas, Jr., in the Spring of 1703, had consider- 
able trouble about his land, because the surveyor laid it out 
on a spot that the Commissioners had granted to "R'd In- 
gels, of Philad'a, Gent." in 2mo. 1686, in the Welsh Tract. 
On a resurvey, it was found that Ingels had too much land, 
and with this "overplus" and some unclaimed land adjoin- 
ing, Richard Thomas was accommodated. 

Minute of 8. 9mo. 1703, Richard Thomas, the younger, was 
granted "a High St. Lott of 132 foot in right of his Fathers 
Purchase, and 51 foot [lot] in the Front Street." 

On 3. 2mo. 1704, Richard Thomas, Jr., made returns of 
the following sales "of his 5,000 acres Purchased by his 
Father" :— 

To Philip Howel, 700 acres. 

To Robert Williams, 600 acres. 

To Edward Jones, 200 acres. 

To Hugh Roberts, 100 acres Liberty Land. 

To David Howel, 200 acres. 

To Robert David, 86I14 acres. 

"In all I78614 acres. [He] has taken up and Patented 
1,665 acres, which Make 3,4511/4, and there remains 
1,5483^. To which 320 Being added, allowed to him (for 
which he is to Pay Rent for the whole 3,200 from the first 
Location of the Welsh Tract as well P'r agreement) , for the 
1,665 acres already Patented as for the Rem'd, makes 
1,868% acres to be Confirmed forthwith, he Paying the said 
arrears." See also letter of David Powell to James Logan, 
5. 12mo. 1701, super. 

It appears from the Minutes of Imo. 5th. 1715-16, that 
the 600 acre part of Richard ap Thomas's original purchase 
which was sold to Messrs. Wood and Sharlow, was laid out 
in New Town tp., Chester Co., and that Richard Thomas, 

[208] 



COMPANY NUMBER SIX 

Jr. claimed this tract, but the heirs of Wood and Sharlow 
protested, whereupon the Commissioners issued a patent to 
him, dated 8. Imo. 1716-7, for 243 acres in the "Chester 
County Welsh Tract," "in part of 600 allowed him instead 
of the like quantity confirmed to him in New Town." 

On 8. 2mo. 1717, "Eichard Thomas, Son and Heir of 
Rich'd ap Thomas, haveing formerly obtained the Grant of 
a Lett of Ground on the River Schuylkill, to be laid out to 
him in Right of his ffather's Purchase, besides those Lotts 
laid out to him on Delaware side of Philad'a, which Lott on 
Schuylkill not being survey'd to him, he now desires that 
he might risign his Right to the said Lott, and that he would 
instead thereof grant him one whole Lott in the Back streets 
on Delaware side. The Comm'rs considers his disappoint- 
m'ts in not haveing his Lotts and Lands laid out to him be- 
fore he came to age. Grants his Request, and a Warrant is 
signed and dated ye 25 of 7ber, 1717." This was done "for 
Richard ap Thomas in full of all his Demand." 

Richard ap Thomas, described as gentleman, as he was 
the owner of a freehold of £300 per annum, resided in Flint- 
shire, at "Whitford Garden," or Crossforth, when he first 
appears in the history of the "Welsh Tract." Nothing is 
certain of his ancestry. He was one of the early converts 
to Fox's teachings. 

He made arrangements to remove with his wife, and two 
children, to Pensylvania, but his wife backed out at the last 
moment, and remained at home with their daughter. It is 
tradition among their descendants, that Mrs. Thomas was 
never converted to Quakerism, and therefore was not "in- 
clined for Pensylvania." 

Mr. Thomas, with his only son, Richard Thomas, Jr., aged 
about ten years, and some servants, joined the Hugh Roberts 
party, and sailed from Mossom, in the ship Morning Star, of 
Liverpool, in Sep. 1683, and arrived at Philadelphia on 16 
Nov. 1683. Mr. Thomas arrived in ill health, and died 
shortly, in town, without having had opportunity to attend 

[209] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

to the locating of his land, or even the disposal of the goods 
he brought over to sell. His will, dated 18 Nov. 1683, vs^as 
probably drawn up just before he died, though it was not 
proved till 15 Jan. 1695-6, when Richard, Jr., was of age. 
He devised his lands in Wales and Pensylvania to Richard, 
his heir, and appointed Dr. Thomas Wynne the executor 
and guardian of young Richard. To his wife and only 
daughter, he devised his personal estate in Wales. 

Richard Thomas, Jr., lived with his guardian, at Lewes, 
in Co. Sussex, (Delaware), until Dr. Wynne died, in 1692. 
In 1693, he had considerable litigation over his Welsh land, 
attended to by his attorney. Gov. Thomas Lloyd. 

The difficulties he experienced, when he became of age, 
over his Pensylvania grant, are mentioned above. Of his 
father's 5,000 acres, he sold 1,785 acres to sundry parties. 
In 1703, he had patents for two tracts, one of 1,065 acres, 
on a part of which the present city of West Chester stands ; 
the other, 600 acres, laid out in Newton tp., he lost through 
bad surveys. In 1704, he had a third patent for 1,548 acres, 
but when it was laid out in Whiteland amounted to 1,869 
acres. 

In 1699-1700, Richard Thomas, Jr., visited the place of 
his birth in the old country. His descendant. Col. Richard 
Thomas, in his memoirs, records that he heard that Richard 
found his sister "reduced to indigence," and his mother had 
married again, and was deceased, and that his step-father 
had dissipated all their joint property. 

When Richard returned to Pensylvania, he brought his 
sister with him, and married her to Llewellyn Parry. They 
had a family, and descendants may be found in Chester Co., 
Pa. 

After his return, Richard Thomas, Jr., married Grace 
Atherton, and finally settled in the Chester Valley. In 1704, 
he is described as of Merion tp., a carpenter, and in 1711, as 
of Blockley tp. 

[210] 



COMPANY NUMBER SIX 

It is of record that Eichard Thomas, Jr., was married, 
by Friends' ceremony, (though there is no evidence that he 
was a Friend, or member of any Meeting here, so the cere- 
mony may have been performed by a Justice of the Peace), 
to Grace Atherton, at his own house, in Whiteland tp., on 15. 
llmo. 1712-3, and that she was the daughter of Henry and 
Jennet Atherton, late of Liverpool. Richard Thomas, Jr., 
died at home, in Whiteland, in 1744, and was survived by 
his wife, who was buried with him in "Malin's Graveyard," 
in East Whiteland tp., Chester Co, They had six children, 
and of these, Hannah, b. 14. llmo. 1716-7, m. James Men- 
denhall; Mary, b. 14, 5mo. 1719, m. John Harrison; Grace, 
b. 9. 7mo. 1722, m. Thomas Stalker; Elizabeth, m. 28. 4mo. 
1750, Jonathan Howell, and removed to No, Car., and 

Richard Thomas, 3d, only son, heir to the Whiteland 
homestead, b. 22. 2mo. 1713, d. 22. 9mo, 1754. He m., at the 
Goshen Meeting, 10. 2mo. 1739, Phebe, daughter of George 
and Mary (Malin) Ashbridge, of Goshen tp., b. 26. 8mo. 
1717, d, 14. 6mo, 1784, and had five children, namely, Lydia, 
m. John Trimble; Grace, m. William Trimble; Hannah, m. 
Joseph Trimble; George, (see below), and 

Richard Thomas, 4th., of "Whitford Lodge," in West 
Whiteland tp., b. 30. lOmo. 1744, d. 19. Imo. 1832. Although 
a birthright Friend, on the outbreak of the war for inde- 
pendence he entered the army, and became colonel of a Fen- 
sylvania regiment, and served throughout the war. He was 
elected to the Pensylvania Assembly, in 1786, and in 1789, 
and the State Senate in 1790, and member of U. S. Con- 
gress, 1794, '96, and '98, in the 4th, 5th and 6th Congresses. 
He w. Thomazine, b. 26. 8mo., 1754, d. 4. 5mo. 1817, daugh- 
ter of Richard Downing, 1719-1803, son of Thomas Dovsti- 
ing, the founder of Downingtovni.* Issue. 



* Thomas Downing, 1691-1772, a farmer, merchant miller, and a 
Frie'nd, had also a daughter Sarah, who m. Thomas' Meteer, a farmer 
and paper maker, member of the Falls, Birmingham, Wilmington, 

[211] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

George Thomas, 6. 21. 12mo. 1746-7, d. 17. 8mo. 1793. He 
inherited 600 acres of his father's estate, in West White- 
land tp., and when the Uwchlan Friends' Meeting House was 
used as a hospital, during the Revolutionary War, the 
Friends held their meetings at his house. He m., at the 
Merion Meeting, on 26. 5mo. 1774, Sarah, daughter of John 
Roberts, and his wife, Jane Downing, (daughter of the 
founder of Downingtown) , of Merion, h. 11. Imo, 1750, d. 
20. 2mo. 1840, and had nine children. 



and Baltimore Friends' meetings, and had Thomas Meteer, Jr., who 
m. Hannah, a daughter of Captain John Quandrill, of the Chester 
Co. militia, and had Ann Meteer, 1798-1872, who m. Eli Sinex, 1797- 
1830, of Staunton, Del., and had Thomas Sinex, 1820-1899, of Phila- 
delphia, father of John H. Sinex, of Philadelphia, and Edge Water 
Park, N. J. 

[212] 



RICHARD DAVIES'S LAND PATENT 

Company No. 7. The purchasers of the 5,000 acres for 
which "Richard Davies, of Welshpool, gent.," subscribed 
and had deed, date 14. 7mo. 1681, were as follows, with the 
parishes in which they resided^ their deeds, bearing dates, 
19 June, and 30 July, 1682, give their occupations and sta- 
tion in life. 

Merionethshire. 

Acres. 

Rowland Ellis, gent, Bryn Mawr 1100 

Richard Humphrey, gent, Llan Glynin 150 

Ellis Maurice, gent, Dolgun vcha 78 

Lewis Owen, gent, Gwanas 183 

Rowland Owen, gent, Gwanas 182 

Evan John William, gent, Llangylynin 156^4 

Evan ap William, gent, Llanvachreth 15614 

David ap Evan, gent, Llanvachreth 156^4 

Edward Owen, gent, "Late of Dalserey" 

Carmarthenshire, 
James Price, gent, Mothvey 800 

Caernarvonshire. 
John Roberts, gent, Llangian 150 

Unknown. 

Ellis ap Hugh, [Ptigh], (possibly of Merioneth) 160 

Petter Edwards 100 

[213] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Radnorshire. 

David Kinsey, carpenter, Nantmele 100 

John Evans, gent, Nantmele 350 

Ellis Jones, weaver, Nantmele 100 

Margaret James, spinster, Newchurch 200 

Richard Miles, weaver, Llanvihangel Velgyen 100 

Roger Hughes, gent, Llanvihangel Rhydyithan 250 

David Meredith, weaver, Llanbister 100 

Richard Corn, glover, Langunllo 50 

Richard Cooke, glover, Langunllo 100 

Thomas Jones, gent, Glascombe 100 

Evan Oliver, gent, Glascombe 200 

John Lloyd, glover, Dissart 100 

Edward Jones, gent, St. Harmon 250 

David James, mariner, Glascram 100 

Their purchases were laid out in Merion, Radnor, Goshen 
and New Town townships, in the Welsh Tract, and the fol- 
lowing is his own account of the purchases from Richard 
Davies. 

"Rich'd Davies Purchase & Alienation of 5,000 acres pr 
Rowl'd Ellis." is the endorsement on the document, owned 
by the Historical Society of Pensylvania, and is, as its sub- 
head states: "Richard Davies purchases 5,000 acres as by 
the original Deed doth appeer, sold & subdivided to ye sev- 
erall purchasers hereafter named." 

"Names — first purchasers in England: — 

"To Rowland Ellis 1,100 acres as per deed apears, 
whereof 600 is taken up & setled att Merion ; 483 acres att 
Goshen in ye Welsh tract laid out & both entered in ye 
Survey'r Generalls Office [&] 17 acres of Lyberty land. 

"To John Roberts 150 acres taken up in the Township of 
Merion, & in's own possession. 

"To Richard Humphrey 1561/4 acres taken up in ye 
Township of Radnor — he died, John Humphrey's Executor, 
'did assign right thereto William Tho. 

[214] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

"To Evan Jno Williams 15614 acres laid out Goshen in 
ye Welsh Tract — he died, by's will bequeathed the same to 
Evan ab William, by's will bequeathed ye same to's son 
Philip Evan, it being laid out as by patent doth appear in 
ye Welsh tract — ye s'd Philip died without issue — brother 
David Evan possess ye same.* 

"To Lewis Owen, Rowland Owen, Ellis Maurice, Ellis_ 
Pugh, 625 acres, sold to Thomas Ellis their title & interest 
therein — ye sd quantity was taken up together in Merion — 
he dec'd, Executor's sold ye same to Joh : William. 

"To James Price 300 acres, he sold same to David Price, 
ye sd David to Henry Rees -j- the present possessor thereof 
— in ye Township of Radnor. 

"To John Evans 350 acres — out of s'd tract he sold 100 
acres to John German now deceased — his widow in posses- 
sion. Another p.t thereof he sold vizt : 100 to John Roberts, 

M ■ - 

*The will of David Evan, of Radnor, signed 16. 12, 1709, witnesses 
Hugh William, Humphrey Ellis (marked), William Davies, and John 
Morga'n, was proved 17 May, 1710. by wife Mary. Names children 
Caleb, Joshua, Evan, David, Philip, John, Mary, Gwen, (and her 
children, John and Gainor), and Sarah. Overseers, Rowland Ellis, Sr. 
and Jr., Eees Thomas, Rowland Powell, Richard Ormes, and John 
Morgan. 

•j-The will of Henry Rees, sig'ned 1 Feb. 1704-5, witnesses, Richard 
Moore and David Evan, was proved 30 June 1705, by wife Elizabeth, 
names children David, Gwen, and Margaret. 

The will of David Rees, (or Reece) , of New Town, Chester Co., yeo- 
man, signed 14. llmo. 1705-6, witnesses, Evan Davis (marked), and 
John Reece, was proved by wife Eleanor, 30 March 1706. Son Thomas 
Reece, to be executor. Names son Lewis Reece. Overseers, David 
Morice, of Marple tp., Henry Lewis, of Haverford tp., and Richard 
Hayes. 

The will of Thomas Reece, of Haverford, yeoman, marked 7. 7mo. 
1713; present Rowland Ellis, Henry Lewis, Rowland Powell, and David 
Morris (marked), was proved 10 Oct. 1713, by son Samuel Reece, 
executor. Other children, Sarah, Daniel, Mary, David, Isaac, Philip, 
Miriam, Thomas, and John. Names sister Margaret Reece, of Pem- 
brokeshire, The witnesses, with Rees Thomas, to be guardians and 
trustees. 

[215] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

the sd John sold the same to John Morgan who has it in 
possession — the remaining pt ye sd John Evans hath in's 
possession, all in Radnor.t 

"To Richard Corn 50 acres, deceased, his son William 
Corn convey'd right therein to John Evans as by deeds doth 
appear & being posses'd thereof, lying in Radnor. 

"To Edward Jones 250 acres, one James Morgan pur- 
chased's right to ye sd quantity. Late deceased's son & heir 
John Morgan now possessor. 

"To Ellis Jones 100 acres, he assigning's right & title 
therein to William David, the said William to John Morgan 
the possessor thereof. 

"To Roger Hughes 250 acres, he selling one moety there- 
of, vizt: 125 acres to Tho Parry, the sd Parry assigning 
over's right to Richard Moore, ye other half ye sd Roger 
sold to David Meredith — now in his possession. 



tThe two following wills were probated at Philadelphia. John Evans, 
of Radnor, marked in the presence of William ap Edward (marked) 
and Hugh William, 19. 11. 1707-8, was proved 19 Jan. 1708, by his 
wife, Mary. Names brother Edward Evan. Appointed John Roberts, 
William ap Edward, Edward Rees, and Hugh William guardians to 
his children, named Evan, Edward, Mary, and Sarah Johnes. 

John Evans, of Radnor, [from Nantmele, Radnor], signed in the 
presence of Abel Roberts, John Jarman, Evan Rees, David Lloyd, and 
Philip Howell. 17. 6mo. 1703, was proved by wife, Deliah, 22 Nov. 1707, 
Names daughters, Mary, wife of David Evan, Sarah, wife of John 
Morgan, Margaret, wife of Hugh Samuel, Phebe, wife of Edward 
Jones David, (and "her three children") , and Jane Jones' sons, Rees 
Jones and Thomas Jones. Brother Edward Evans, and his daughter 
Elizabeth. Overseers, David Evan and John Morgan. 

John Morgan, mentioned in this will, was a brother of Cadwalader 
Morgan, one of the Thomas & Jones Company. He came over with 
his father, James Morgan, from Vaenor, Radnorshire, and took up 
land in Radnor, some of which is still held by descendants. John's 
daughter, Hannah Morgan, m. James Hunter, of Radnor, and their 
daughter, Mary, 1757-1820, m. Hugh Jones, 1748-1796, of Radnor, 
(and had Mary, m. 1804, Nathan Brooke, of Gulph Mills, 1778-1815), 
eon of Hugh Jones, 1705-1790, who, with his father, owned at one time 
700 acres, part of it is the farm land called "Brookfleld," North of 
Bryn Mawr, owned by Mr. Wayne MacVeagh. 

[216] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

"To Richard Cook 100 acres, taken up for him in Radnor. 

"To John Lloyd 100 acres, laid out for hime likewise [in 
Radnor] . 

"To David James 100 acres, deceased — his daughter Mary 
James Executrix of ye sd father sold ye title & interest 
therin to Stephen ab Evan present possessor. 

v^To Margaret James 200 acres, Samuel James in right -^ 
of's wife the sd Margaret possesseth ye same. 

"To Richard Miles 100 acres, settles thereon. 

"To Thomas Jones [100] by his heirs the title thereof 
was made to William Davies the possessor. 

"To Evan Oliver 200 acres, deceased, his heirs sold ye sd 
quantity to ye sd William Davies the possessor, 

"To David Kinsey 100 acres, the Execut's of the deceased 
Kinsey sold the said tract to James James,* & ye sd James 
tc Lewis Walker, who possesseth ye same. 

"To Fetter Edwards 100 acres, he sold's title and interest 
to Thomas Parry, and the sd Parry to Tho Rees, ye present 
possessor. 

"The whole subdivided among ye above named first pur- 
chasers in England comes 5,000. 

"Whereof 2,656 accers & i/4 is laid out in ye Township 
Sodnor, the remainder of ye property hath been laid pt in 
Merion the rest where the [mutilated] lives in ye Welch 
tract. 

"Here followeth some ace more of lands taken up in ye 
said Township, part whereof by purchase & part rent land : 

"David Meredith 250 acres, purchased as by patent doth 
appear. 

"Samuel Miles 100 acres, formerly took up att Rent, 
sometime after paid for as doth appear. 



*Will of "James James, of Haverford, yeoman," signed 18. 6mo. 
1708, witnesses, Richard Hayes, Rowland Powell, and Adam Roades, 
was proved 28 Aug. 1708. Wife probably dead. Names children, 
George, David, Sarah, and Thomas James (executor). Son-in-law 
David Lewis, and his children, not named. 

[217] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"John Evans 100 acres, took up att rent, in his posses- 
sion. 

"William Davies 150 acres, formerly took up att Rent. 

"Stephen ab Evan 100 acres, hath taken up likewise att 
Rent. 

"all by orders in Radnor Welch tract," 

In pursuance of the order made by the Commissioners, 
23. 10. 1701, on 16. 12mo. 1701-2, the lands of these grantees 
of Richard Davis were resurveyed. John Roberts, malter, 
150 acres in Merion tp., and William Thomas 15314 acres 
in Merion tp., Radnor Tp., John Roberts, malter 150 acres 
in Radnor tp. The will of "William Thomas, of Radnor, 
planter," was marked in the presence of Philip Evan, and 
John Humphrey, 18. 7mo. 1687, and proved 4. 9mo. 1689, 
by wife Ann, to whom he left his estate, with remainder to 
William Thomas, if he will come to this country, otherwise 
his property was to be sold, "and the proceeds equally divid- 
ed between the children of my brother, and of my sister," 
unnamed. Legacies to cousin Rees Petter, Ellis Ellis, Hum- 
phrey Ellis, David Lawrence, Katherine Morgan, Ellis 
Pugh, Evan Harry, Hugh Haney, and Daniel Haney. To 
Owen Morgan* one sow, and his son (Owen's) "to be re- 
leased after my departure, and if my wife depart before the 
time of his daughter be over, she also may be released." To 
brother-in-law David Davies, sister-in-law Katherine Da- 
vies. To be overseers, David Lawrence, Rees Petter, David 
Evan, and John Humphrey. 

Richard Davies' "alienation of his 5,000 acres" was long 
the cause of misunderstanding by purchasers under him, 
especially as to city lots^ and "Liberty lands" which went 

*Will of Owen Morgan, of Merion, signed 23. 9mo. 1703, in presence 
of Daniel Thomas (marked), John More, and John Bevan, was 
proved 26 Feb. 1703-4, by wife Blanche. Names son Humphrey Mor- 
gan, and daughters, Katherine Morgan, and Mary Carply. Friends 
Edward Morgan, and John Lloyd. To be overseers, William Lewis, 
Ralph Lewis, Ellis Ellis, and John Bevan. 

[218] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

with such a purchase. Frequently the Land Commissioners 
had to explain that Richard Davies had no right to such 
extras on account of the whole purchase, because he had 
made it only in trust, and had conveyed the tract to parties 
interested, himself only being one of them, who had taken 
up lots in several parts of the city according to their shares 
purchased out of the 5,000 acres grant. And that Davies, 
himself, was only entitled to a twenty-five foot lot, which 
he had in High Street and Front Street, Philadelphia, Pa., 
on account of his share, namely, 1,250 acres of the grant. 
His Pensylvania land was managed and sold by many 
mentioned as his attorneys, as Thomas Lloyd, William 
Powel, Hugh Roberts, David and John Humphrey, Griffith 
Owen, Rowland Ellis, and David Lloyd. 

The Land Commissioners's "Welsh Minutes" give a few 
further details concerning the distribution of Richard 
Davies's land. He sold 2,656 acres in Radnor tp., and bal- 
ance was located in Merion and Goshen. 

Rowland Ellis sold, by deed 31 July, 1682, his 17 acres of 
the Liberty lands, to John Goodson. Of his 600 acres tract 
in Merion he gave 100 acres "to Edw'd Jones, of London, 
gent., for settling it," by deed of 6. 12mo. 1687. By dead, 
dated 11. 2mo. 1702, he bought back this land. Besides this 
Merion land, he had 483 acres in Goshen tp. 

"John Roberts's, gent.," deed for his 150 acres in Merion, 
dated 30, July, 1682, recorded 24. 4. 1684, was witnessed by 
Rowland Owen, Ellis Morris, David Even, Owen Lewis, Sr., 
and Jr., Evan Harry, and Rowland Ellis. He also held 60 
acres adjoining where he resided, which he had from An- 
drew Wheeler, a Swede, 3 June 1699. 

(Will dated 25. 7mo. 1688, of "Jance John Morgan, alias 
Jane Roberts, of Haverford," left all her estate to "friend 
John Roberts, of Merion," who was to be sole executor. 
Signed in presence of William Howell and Blanche 
Sharpies) . 

[219] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Richard Humphrey died without issue, and his 150 or 
156l^ acres, located in Eadnor tp., were sold by his cousin, 
heir and executor, John Humphrey, 23. lOmo. 1693, to Wil- 
liam Thomas, 

Richard Humphrey, "of Radnor, in the Welsh Tract," 
was the cousin and brother-in-law of John Humphrey, of 
Haverford. He had resided in the parish of Llangelynin, or 
Llan Glynin, Merioneth, and had the usual Friends' certifi- 
cate, dated 27. 5mo. 1683. His will, marked, and witnessed 
by Theodore Robert (marked), Benjamin Humphrey, and 
Rowland Ellis, 12. 12mo. 1691, was proved at Philadelphia, 
18. 12mo. 1692-3. He bequeathed all his land "to my brother- 
in-law, John Humphrey," who sold it. He gave legacies to 
brothers John Humphrey and Owen Humphrey, sister 
Katherine, or her children, unnamed, cousin John Owen, 
Lyddie Ellis, Rebecca, Ann, Daniel, Benjamin and Joseph 
Humphrey, also to the "Friends' Monthly Meeting for the 
service of Truth." 

Rebecca Humphrey and Elizabeth Owen, spinster, also 
came from this parish, bringing certificates which they filed 
with the Haverford Monthly Meeting. Elizabeth's certifi- 
cate was signed by Hugh Rees, Owen and William Hum- 
phrey, Robert, Evan, and Humphrey Owen, Humphrey Rei- 
nald, John William, Richard, Sr., Elizabeth, and Richard 
Stafford, Jr. Rebecca's was signed by the same, and Grif- 
fith Robert, Edward Ellis, Hugh David, Lewis Robert, Owen 
Lewis, Lewis Owen, David Edward, Ellis Moris, Robert 
Richard, Katharine Price, Janne Robert, Ellin Ellis, Anne 
Hugh, Margaret Robert, and Ann Humphrey. 

Evan John William., gent., divided his right to 15614 
acres, laid out in Goshen tp., giving part to his nephew, 
Richard Rees, and the other to "John Roberts, cordwainer, 
of Philadelphia, who is Rees Peter's wife's son." "Rees 
Petter, of Machanlleth, Montgomeryshire" brought certifi- 
cate, dated 27. 5mo. 1683, from the Quarterly Meeting at 
Dolyseerey, which he filed with the Haverford Monthly 

[220] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

Meeting. It was signed by Robert, Humphrey, and Richard 
Owen, Griffith and Owen Lewis, John Evans, Hugh Reece, 
Amos Davies, Wilham Thomas, and Evan, William, and 
Rowland Ellis. 

Evan ap William died at sea coming over. A letter of at- 
torney, dated 27 July, 1683, recorded 8. 5. 1684, at Philadel- 
phia, was given by Evan ap William, gent., and David Evan, 
both of Llanfachreth, to John Roberts, of Langian, Caernar- 
vonshire, in a matter concerning their 3121/^ acres purchased 
of Richard Davies. It was vdtnessed by The Ellis, John 
Humphrey, Evan Ellis, and Rowland Ellis. By his will, his 
son Philip ap Evan, inherited his purchase, which was laid 
out near the New Town Friends' Meeting House, patent 
being confirmed to him, 27. 11. 1687. Philip died without 
issue, when his brother, David ap Evan, succeeded to the 
farm. The will of David Evan, of Haverford, was marked 
in the presence of John Bevan, Evan Bevan, and Elinor 
Bevan, 16. 1. 1698, proved 20 April^ 1706, names his chil- 
dren, Harry, Sarah, and Elizabeth David. 

David ap Evan (David Evan) was himself a purchaser 
of 15614 acres from Davies, which tract was laid out, 22. 
llmo. 1687, along with his brother's tract, at New Town, in 
the Welsh Tract. In 1701, David Evan had 308 acres in two 
parcels, in Radnor. 

Edward Jones's 250 acres were in Radnor. He, by deed, 
dated 4 Feb. 1690-1, sold same to James Morgan, who, in 
1701, had altogether 450 in Radnor, whose son and heir, 
John, inherited the place, but John Worrall had most of it 
in 1703. 

Ellis Jones assigned, on 12. 10. 1687, his 100 acres to Wil- 
liam David, who sold the same to John Morgan, by deed of 
15, 10. 1702, so the said John had 450 acres in Radnor tp. 
He sold 80 acres to Henry Lewis, of Haverford, who sold 
the same to John Worrall, or Worrell. 

Roger Hughes had deed, dated 20 June. 1682, for 250 
acres laid out in Radnor tp. By deed, 11. 7. 1691, he sold 

[221] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

125 acres to David Meredith, who sold^to Richard Moore. 
Roger sold his balance, in 1699, to Thomas Parry, after 
whose death, Richard Moore had it. 

Thomas Parry,* or Thomas ap Harry, a weaver, who 
bought this land, was the son of Harry ap Rees, of Henllan 
parish, Cardiganshire, and came to Pensylvania from Llan- 
elwith, in Radnor, bringing a certificate of membership 
from the Radnor Quarterly Meeting, dated 5. 5mo. 1699. He 
m. Elinor, daughter of John Edward, of Lanelwi parish, 
Radnor, and had two sons, Edward Parry, who m. 6. 8mo. 
1710, Jane, daughter of Robert Evans, and d. 28. 2mo. 1726, 
and Thomas Parry, Jr., who m. 27. 8mo. 1715, Jane Phillips, 
daughter of Philip Philip, of Radnor, (who d. 25. 12mo. 
1697), and had ten children. 

Roger Hughes subsequently bought 250 acres from the 
Commissioners, the money being paid to James Harrison. 
Of this, he sold, 20. 5. 1691, 150 acres to Stephen Evans, 
who had also 100 acres from David James. 

Richard Cooke located his 100 acres in Radnor tp., but 
did not come over from Wales, and probably lost his rights. 
Witnesses to his deed, 19 June, 1682, were Ed Jones, Tho 
Davies, Ric Jones, David Jones, Daniel Morris, Samuel 
Miles, Evan Evans, and others. 

"John Lloyd" remained in Wales, but had his 100 acre 
right laid out in Radnor tp. This probably should be Fran- 
cis Lloyd, who died, and his widow, Mary Lloyd, and son, 
Joseph Lloyd, cordwainer, both of Haverford West, gave 
power of attorney to Samuel Carpenter, a Philadelphia mer- 
chant, and William Howell, of Haverford, to sell the 100 
acres, which they did to Mary, widow of David Haverd. 



♦Will of Hugh Parry, of Merion, signed 26 April, 1731; witnesses 
Hugh Evans, Thomas Lloyd (marked), and Robert. Jones; proved 5 
June same year, mentions brothers Henry and Robert, and sisters 
Ellin, Jane, Elizabeth, and Katherine Pugh. 

[222] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

Cook and Lloyd tried to sell through David Meredith, and 
Stephen Evans, but they only disposed of their city lots in 
Walnut Street, near Fifth Street, in 1702, to Enoch Story. 

David Jones died, and his only child, Mary, sold his right 
to 100 acres, to Stephen Evans, in Radnor. 

Margaret James, spinster, after receiving deed, dated 20 
June, 1682, for her 200 acres, married by Friends' cere- ^■'^ 
mony, and in V/elsh, at the house of Ann Thomas, in New 
Church parish, Radnorshire, 24. 4mo. 1682, Samuel Miles, 
of Hamhanghobyeholgen parish, Radnor, and they located 
the land in Radnor tp., removed to it, and bought 150 acres 
more from Thomas Lehnman. They sold 50 acres to brother 
Richard Miles, and, in Sep. 1705, had remaining 258 acres 
in Radnor, which, on resurvey, amounted to 352 acres, 
the excess they bought, paying 6s. 8d. per acre, and eighteen 
months' interest on the price of the surplus from the date of 
the original grant. 

Samuel Miles's will, signed in the presence of Edward 
Rees, Richard Miles, David Thomas, William Davies, and 
John_Re^ce, 24. 4mo. 1707, was proved by his wife, [Marga- 
ret James] , not named, 28 Apr. 1708. Names his children, 
Tamar, Phoebe, and Ruth, [m. Owen Evans]. To be over- 
seers brother Richard Miles, Stephen Bevan, and Edward 
Reece. Their first child, Tamar, was b. 21 Feb. 1687, and 
was the first Welsh child born in Radnor tp. She m. Thomas 
Thomas, of Radnor, and, after 62 years of married life, d. 
28. 7mo. 1770, a member of the Radnor Meeting. 

Richard Miles also located his right to 100 acres in Rad- 
nor, which re-surveyed amounted to 233 acres. He also 
bought from his brother, Samuel Miles, 50 acres, which was 
found to be 92 acres on a re-survey, and 20 acres from Ellis 
Jones, "the Govern's miller." By the first surveys in 12mo. 
1701, he supposed he had only 170 acres in Radnor, but the 
later survey showed he had 325 acres, so he bought the ex- 
cess from Penn, 155 acres, and paid interest on the cost of 
the "overs" from dates of the grants. 

[223] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Thomas Jones, of "Lauianread in Elvel," or Glascombe. 
Radnorshire, gave his 100 acre right to his nephew, John 
Jones, who by deed, dated 30 8ber, 1685, conveyed the same 
to William Davies, who sold it to David Evan, of Radnor tp. 

Evan Oliver's 200 acres were sold by his heir to William 
Davies, who, by deed, dated 18 Jan. 1702, conveyed 50 acres 
of the same to David Evan, of Radnor, and on 19 July, 1697, 
100 acres to Edward David. ■- 

David Meredith, besides the 100 acres from Davies, bought 
100 from Corn (and on re-survey it was found 37 acres 
over, which amount he bought, paying a noble an acre) , and 
125 acres from Roger Hughes, which he sold to Richard 
Moore. David Meredith, his wife Katherine, and children 
Richard, Mary, John, Meredith, and Sarah, came from 
Llanbister parish, Radnorshire, bringing the usual certifi- 
cate of membership in good standing in the Society of 
Friends, dated 20. 5mo. 1683. 

To Lewis Owen, 183 acres, Rowland Owen, 182 acres, 
Ellis Morris, 78 acres, and ElUs ap Hugh, 182 acres, were 
conveyed 625 acres, in proportions named, in four deeds, 
dated 31 July, 1682. Witnesses to the deeds of the first 
three, as grantees, were the men of Merioneth, Owen 
Lewis, Sr., and Jr., Rowland Ellis, Evan Harry, and David 
Evan, and as grantors, were same, and Morris Ellis, and 
John Humphrey. 

The first three grantees, by deed dated 30 June, 1683, 
sold their rights to 443 acres for £19. 17. 2, English, to 
Thomas Ellis, as also did Ellis Pugh,* by deed dated 16 July, 
1686. This land, Thomas Ellis had laid out in Merion. By 
his will, signed 1. llmo. 1688, he ordered it sold to pay his 
debts, which was done 5. 7mo. 1698. 



♦Evan ap Hugh (Evan Pugh) made his will 21 May, 1703, and 
signed with his mark in the presence of Thomas Edward, Humphrey 
Bate, and John Robert. Proved 7 June, 1704, by wife Ann. Names 
only son David Pugh, (but had other children) and nephew Hugh 
Edward. Overseers, John Humphrey, Edward Foulke, and Robert 
John. 

[224] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

James Price, who had right to 300 acres in Radnor tp., 
by deed, 19 June, 1682, rented his land for three year from 
16 July, 1684, to David Price, and in case James did not come 
over to use the land, he could have it forever. "James never 
came," so David sold the place, by deed 6. 1. 1696-7, to Hum- 
phrey Rees. David Price was also granted a city lot, "among 
the rest of his countrymen in Chestnut Street," between 
Fourth and Fifth Streets, and this by deed, 7 July, 1693, 
without even locating the lot, he conveyed to William 
Thomas, of Radnor, who sold it to Gov. Lloyd, whose execu- 
tor, David Lloyd, requested confirmation of sale, as said 
Thomas lost his life by accident before he executed the deed 
of sale. His widow gave the deed, 27. 2. 1702. 

John ap Evan, or John Evans, Sr., received his right to 
350 acres by deed of 19 July, 1682, witnessed by Edward 
Jones, Thomas Davies, David Jones, Richard Jones and 
David Morris. He located his land in Radnor tp. On resur- 



Roger Robert, of Radnor, marked his will, 5 July, 1720, in the pre- 
sence of Robert Jones, Rees Thomas, William Thomas, and Robert 
Evans, and mentions his children, Robert., John, Owen, and Jane, and 
grandsons Roger Robert and Roger Pugh. 

Will of Thomas Pugh, a mason, signed 3. 3. 1723: witnesses John 
Roger, Thomas Ellis, Ellis Robert, and Meredith David, proved 1 Oct. 
1723, by wife Ann. Mentions brother Job Pugh, and own sons Jesse 
and Roger Pugh. To be trustees, Robert Jones, of Merion, Meredith 
Davis, Robert Roger, Job Pugh, and Ellis Robert. 

Will of Henry Pugh, of Merion, yeoman, signed 11 June, 1730, proved 
by wife Katherine, 1 May, 1731. Witnesses, Ellen Thomas (marked) 
Ellin Jones, Ann Jones (marked), Lowry Evans, Hugh Evans, and 
Robert Jones. Names children, Hugh, Robert, Jane, Katherine, Eliza- 
beth, Ellen, Henry, and Moses Pugh. Trustees, Thomas Thomas, 
Thomas Lawrence, Hugh Evans and Robert Jones. " 

Will of William Pugh, of Radnor, yeoman, marked 19 June, 1705, 
witnesses Daniel Harry (marked), Susanna Williams, and William 
Davies. Proved 19 June, 1798. Wife probably deceased. Names 
eon, "Hugh Williams," and his children William, Catherine, Susanna, 
and Elizabeth Williams. Grandsons, Hugh Jones and Joseph Jones. 
Mentions "friends Richard and Ann [Roberts,] brother and sistfir of 
John Roberts, of Merion, and Jane, daughter of Robert Ellis." 

[225] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

vey it amounted to only 300 acres, and was surveyed agai"n, 
and came out only 250 acres, and even then he had to buy an 
"over plus" of 25 acres. By deed, 4. 4. 1688, Evans con- 
veyed 100 acres to John German, or Jarman, v?hose relict, 
"Margaret Jermain," held it. On survey, it was made out 
to be 42 acres over, which her son, John, paid for at a noble 
an acre. "John Jarman, of the parish of Llangerig," in 
Montgomeryshire, and his wife Margaret, and children Eliz- 
abeth and Sarah, brought certificate, dated 20. 5mo. 1683, 
from the Radnorshire Men's Meeting, which they filed with 
the Haverford Monthly Meeting. It was signed by Owen 
Humphrey, Daniel Lewis, Nathan Woodliffe, David Griffith, 
Jon Lloyd, Edward Moore, Richard Watkins, Thomas Parry, 
Edward Jones, Richard Cooke, John Watson, Roger Hughes, 
John Robert, and Rees ap Rees. At same date (4. 4. 1688), 
John Evans sold 100 acres to "Jno. Robert, of Haverford, 
smith," adjoining German or Jarman, on the north. The 
will of "John Robert, blacksmith," dated 26. 7. 1702, was 
proved 5 Jan. 1702-3. To daughter Margaret, wife of 
Thomas Kenderdine, and her children. Mentions his son 
John, and daughter, Elinor Jenkins, living in Wales. Exec- 
utors, John Bevan and John Rees. Among the witnesses 
was William Howell. John Robert, by deed of 9. Imo. 1699- 
00, sold same land to John Morgan, who also had 100 acres 
more of John Evans's land. Edward David, on 19 July, 
1697, bought "the remaining 150 acres," and this lot, with 
50 acres, he bought of William Corn (the son of one of 
Davies's grantees), was in Radnor tp., and he sold it to 
John Evans, "together with 500 acres of 'rent land,' of which 
he sold 50 to Edward David." In 12mo. ITOl, the Land 
Commissioners supposed John Evans had 2,200 acres in 
Radnor. 

Richard Corn, or Conn, got his 50 acres in Radnor, by 
deed, 20 June, 1682, his son and heir, William, sold it to 
John Evans, 6 Jan. 1690. 

[226] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

By a triparty deed, dated 19. 6mo. 1686, between — 
Richard Davies, Thomas Ellis, William Howell. 

Francis Howel, Ellis Ellis. 

Morgan David. 

Francis Lloyd. 

James Thomas, 
there was conveyed 410 acres of land, for £30, being part 
of 500 acres out of Richard Davies's 1250 acres, to William 
Howell and Ellis Ellis (son of Thomas Ellis), that is to say: 
— for Thomas Ellis, 10 acres, Francis Howel 100, James 
Thomas 100^ Morgan David 100, and Francis Lloyd 100. 

The will of David Morgan, "of Merion, yeoman," marked 
15. 12mo. 1694, in presence of Robert Owen, Robert Powell, 
and of John Humphreys, proved 18. 7. 1695, by wife Cath- 
erine, sole executor. William Howell, Morris Llewellyn, 
Francis Howel and David Lawrence, overseers. His estate 
to go to his two eldest sons, John and Evan, mentions son 
David. Legacies to daughters Katherine and Elizabeth, and 
to the Meeting House in Haverford. By deed of 8. 3mo. 
1695, the relict and the overseers conveyed David Morgan's 
100 acres to James Thomas, who willed the same to his 
second son, Nathan Thomas. In 12mo. 1701, James Thomas 
had 100 acres of the Richard Davies patent located in Mer- 
ion, and altogether, at this time, he held 300 acres in the 
Welsh Tract. 

"David James, from Llandigley and Glaseram [or Glas- 
cum] parish, in Radnorshire," and his wife, Margaret, and 
daughter Mary, wrote to the Radnorshire Men's Meeting, 
from Pensylvania, in 8mo. 1682, asking for a certificate of 
membership, &c., which was given, dated 20. 5mo. 1683, 
and filed with the Haverford (Radnor) Monthly Meeting. 
David James had his purchase of 100 acres laid out in 
Radnor. His sole heir, Mary James, by deed, dated 23. lOmo. 
1702, conveyed the same property to Stephen Evans, of 
Radnor, yeoman, who came from Llanbister parish, Rad- 
norshire, bringing to the Haverford (or Radnor) Monthly 

[227] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Meeting, his certificate from the Radnorshire Men's Meet- 
ing, dated 20. 5mo. 1683. 

Stephen Evans bought by deed of 20. 5mo. 1691, 150 
acres of David Meredith (who held 350 acres in Radnor, but 
in 1701, had only 200). Mary James also sold her father's 
head right, or servant land, to Stephen Evans, virhose son 
John Stephens had the whole surveyed. He declined to pay 
quit-rent to the land officer, alleging that Penn was under 
some obligation to him for personal services. He probably 
satisfied the Commissioners, as there is no further mention 
of this matter. 

Roger Hughes, David Meredith, Richard Cook, David (or 
James) Price, and John Lloyd, had city lots, in Chestnut 
Street, between 4th and 5th Streets, reserved for the Welsh 
settlers, granted to them on account of purchases of land 
from Richard Davies, which lots were resurveyed to them 
28. 2mo. 1702. Hughes sold his lot to Meredith. Cook and 
Lloyd sold their lots to said Meredith and Stephen Evans. 
By deed of 20. 9mo. 1702, they conveyed the four lots to 
David Lloyd, who then owned five city lots altogether, in 
Chestnut Street, between 4th and 5th Streets, which he sold, 
by deed of 23. lOmo. 1702, to Enoch Story, of Philadelphia. 

Stephen ap Evan, or Stephen Evans aforesaid, bought 100 
acres from Richard Davies, and, with the two lots purchased 
as above, he had 350 acres in Radnor, and on resurvey, in 
6mo. 1703, it was discovered he had 47 acres "overplus," 
which he bought, paying Penn a noble an acre. The Land 
Commissioners found that he owed Mary James £11, and 
rent-money for her land from in 1684, and ordered this all 
paid. 

Other land transactions in the account of Richard Davies, 
David Lloyd bought from attorneys of Richard Davies, 
15. 6mo. 1687, 90 acres, which he sold, 7. 7mo. 1687, to 
David Powel, who sold it, by deed 10. lOmo. 1687, to Evan 
Harry, and said Evan Harry also bought 74 acres from 
Powel, so that in 12mo. 1701, he had 164 acres in one tract, 

[228] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

in Radnor. Evan Harry, who had land in Merion — 164 
acres he bought, which on the survey, amounted to 214 
acres, in 4mo, 1704. 

Griffith Owen, John Humphrey, Rowland Ellis, and David 
Lloyd, acting as Davies's attorneys, and Edward Evans, 
conveyed by deeds of 6. Imo. 1698-9, and 6. Imo. 1696, 90 
acres to Joseph Growdon. 

"Richard Davies alias Frees," in 12mo. 1701, held 761/2 
acres in Goshen tp., part of Richard Davies's 5,000 acres. 

Thomas Howell, in 12mo. 1701, held 100 acres in Haver- 
ford, being part of Richard Davies's 1250 acres there. 

Daniel Humphrey bought 5. 3mo. 1694, 50 acres of "over- 
plus land," due several purchasers of Richard Davies, in 
Haverford. He also held in Haverford, in 12mo. 1701, 200 
acres in rights of "T. Ellis, L. David and J. Poyer." 

Richard Moore, in 12mo. 1701, held 245 acres in Radnor, 
and Henry Price,* 300 acres in same township, bought out 
of the Richard Davies tract there. 

Griffith Owen bought some of this land in Goshen tp., 
which by first survey amounted to 401 14 acres. But on re- 
survey, in 9mo, 1703, amounted to 775 acres. He was al- 
lowed 40 acres "for measure," and promised to pay for the 
difference. 



*Price families were numerous in the Welsh Tract. 

Will of Isaac Price, signed 4 Sep. 1706, witnesses, David William, 
Thomas Rees, a'nd Rowland Ellis, proved by his wife, not named, 1 
Mar. 1706-7. Names children, Isaac, Mary, and Gwen Price. Over- 
seers same as the witnesses. 

Will of Philip Price, of Merion, yeoman, marked 11 Dec. 1719, in 
the presence of Rees Thomas, Owen Roberts, and Richard Thomas, 
proved 22 Nov. 1720, by wife Margaret. Names daughter Sarah 
Lewis, grandchildren Isaac Price, and Samuel, Daniel, Sarah, Mary, 
David, Isaac, Philip, Miriam, and John, the children of Thomas Rees, 
"late of Haverford," also grandchildren, ("children of John Lewis, of 
New Castle, Delaware county"), Elizabeth Stout, Philip, Stephen, Jo- 
siah, Sarah, Mary and Ann Lewis. Mentions Joaii, wife of Hugh 
David, Lettice, wife of Samuel Rees, and Rebecca, wife of Thomas 
Rees. Overseers, Rees Thomas, Norris Llewellyn, and Robert Jones. 

[229] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Henry Harry, only son of Daniel Harry, grantee of 100 
acres in Radnor, in 168 — , asked confirmation by the Land 
Commissioners of this land to him, 25. 9mo. 1724. 

"Fi-om Macchinleth, in Montgomeryshire, Hugh Harris 
and Daniel Harris," is recorded on the passenger list of the 
ship "Vine of Liverpool," which arrived at Philadelphia 17. 
7mo. 1684, and from the minutes of the Haverford, or Rad- 
nor Monthly Meeting, 8. 2mo. 1686, "William Howell and 
George Painter are ordered to speak to Hugh and Daniel 
Harry concerning their Parents money," and, in same, 10, 
4mo. 1686, "George Painter & William Howell according to 
former order did speak with Hugh and Daniel Harry, who 
have promised yt if any friends would lay out money in 
England upon their parents account they would out of the 
Product or growth of this Countrey make them satisfac- 
tion." Their surnames, as assumed, were variously Harry 
and Harris in different families. Hugh Harris, a weaver, 
and Elizabeth, daughter of William and Ann Brinton, of 
Birmingham tp., declared their intentions of marriage, at 
the Chichester Meeting 1. Imo. 1686. By deed 11. 4mo. 
1695, Mr. Brinton conveyed 250 acres of land in Birming- 
ham, to them, where they went to reside, and 19 Nov. 1707, 
Hugh bought 430 acres in East Marlborough tp., Chester 
Co. Hugh Harris died in 1708, having nine children. His 
four sons, Evan, William, Hugh, and John, and their de- 
scendants, had "Harry" as their surname. 

The will of Lewis Harry, of Radnor, marked 12. 7mo. 
1699, witnesses David Davies, Benjamin Humphrey, David 
Lewis, and Benjamin Lewis, was proved 1 April, 1700, by 
wife Abigail. Children named Harry, Mary, and Eleanore. 
The will of his son, Harry Lewis, of Radnor, signed 20 
March, 1701-2, in the presence of Peter Worrell, Kdward 
Thomas, and David Evan, was proved 13 April, 1702, by 
brother-in-law John Worrell, names sisters Mary Worrell, 
and Eleanor Lewis. His father's servant, Richard Faddery, 
mentioned in both wills. 

[230] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

John Evan Edwards, held at one time 625 and 194 acres, 
in Radnor. He bougth 200 acres of this land from John 
Williams, by deed of 10. 5mo. 1700, which was a portion 
of the estate of Thomas Ellis, whose administrator, Daniel 
Humphreys, had conveyed it to Williams. David Powel con- 
veyed, by deed of 22. 5mo. 1687, to John Evan Edwards 100 
acres, which was a part of the 500 acres he received^rom the 
Land Commissioners, by patent, dated 4. 4mo. 1686. On re- 
survey, it was found to be 123 acres, and Edwards bought 
the difference. 

The will of Thomas John Evan, of Radnor, who may have 
been a son of this landowner, signed 31, 1 mo. 1707, in the 
presence of friends Rowland Ellis, Sr., Joshua Owen, and 
Rowland Ellis, Jr., was proved by his wife "Lowry John 
Evan." Children named, John, Joseph, and Elizabeth. 

All of these "Radnor town" original deeds had about the 
same witnesses, namely, Edward Jones, Thomas Davies, 
David James, Richard Jones, Daniel Morris, Samuel Miles, 
John Evans, and Daniel Meredith. 



[231] 




HAVERFORD TP., WEST OF THE "'STREET," 1690. 



RICHARD DAVIES'S LAND PATENT, II. 

Richard Davies was a recognized minister among the 
Friends in Wales, and, as it appears, was an active friend 
of Penn, since he sold so much of his land. But, strange to 
say, he sold none of it in his home county. "The Journal of 
that ancient Servant of the Lord, Richard Davies," giving 
his autobiography, has frequently been printed. He was 
born at Welshpool, Montgomeryshire, in 1635, His parents 
were "Church of England people," but being apprenticed to 
an "Independant," a felt-maker, he became acquainted with 
Morgan Evan, of South Wales, a minister among Friends, 
who made the young man a convert to Quakerism. In 1659, 

he married in London, Tace , by whom, who died 

in 1705, he had a daughter Tace, who married 

Endon, and had a son, David Endon. Mr. Davies died at his 
home, Cloddan Cochion, near Welshpool, on 22. Imo. 1707-8. 

See the "Friends' Library," vol. XIII., for "An Account 
of Richard Davies," written in 1708, and a copy of the "Tes- 
timonies concerning him," given at the Quarterly Meeting 
held at Dolobran, 25. llmo. 1708. 

"Rowland Ellis, gent," a minister among Friends, with a 
good estate, the largest purchaser of land from Richard 
Davies, and subsequently one of the prominent men of the 
Welsh Tract, was born about 1650-2, on his father's farm, 
called "Bryn Mawr,",near Dogelly, Dyffrydan tp., in Mer- 
ionethshire, where he resided till his removal to Pensylva- 
nia, having sold the old homestead, a modest stone house, 
which is still standing in a state of good preservation. 

Like other Welshmen who came over to settle here, he 
wrote out and brought his family genealogy, in Welsh style, 
still extant in the Evans family, so as to be in touch with 

[233] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"home." From it, we learn that he was the only son of 
Ellis ap Rees, or Ellis Price, whose father, Lewis ap Sion 
Griffith, of Nannau, built "Bryn Mawr House" in 1617. And 
that Rowland's mother, Ann Humphrey, was a daughter 
of Humphrey ap Hugh, of Llwyngrill, (the marriage settle- 
ment dated 1 Jan. 1649), and sister to John and Samuel 
Humphrey, purchasers of Welsh Tract land from the Lloyds. 
He is of record, 8. lOmo. 1704, as filing an account of his 
kindred and life with the Merion Meeting. 

Rowland Ellis became a Quaker about 1673, and like other 
Friends of his neighborhood, suffered imprisonment in 1676, 
in Dolgelly goal, but, although he bought the largest block 
of land in the Welsh Tract purchased of Richard Davies, 
and helped get up his company, he did not remove to his 
purchase permanently till after sixteen years, when "beyond 
the Schuylkill" was no longer a wilderness. 

In 1683, Rowland Ellis sent in Hugh Roberts' party his 
farmer, Thomas Owen, who was said to be a relative, and 
Thomas's family, to have his land properly laid out, some 
in Merion, and some in Goshen, and to make a settlement 
on his Merion land, build a house, clear some fields, and 
begin a farm, and make the usual preparations for the com- 
ing of himself and family when convenient. Four years 
later, Rowland Ellis, then a widower, bringing his son and 
namesake, came over to look over the situation, with a view 
of permanently removing with all his family. 

On this trip to Pensylvania, he sailed in a Bristol 
ship from Milford Haven, on 16. 8mo. 1686. Many of his 
neighbors, about 100, all from about Dolgelly, accompanied 
him, and they had a long and tedious passage of 24 weeks, 
as they were obliged to come by the way of the Barbadoes, 
where the ship was detained six weeks, much to the dis- 
comfort of some of the passengers, but the saving of others, 
for coming, the immigrants generally experienced great suf- 
fering from being crowded in a small boat, and from the 
lack of proper accommodations for so large a party, and 
as it is recorded, "many died through want of necessary 

[234] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

provisions, others from the remaining effects of their 'suf- 
ferings' [in Wales] and some that survived never recovered 
their former strength." If these passengers had not had 
the opportunity for recuperation at the Barbadoes, it w^as 
thought all Vi^ould have perished before reaching the Dela- 
ware, so great was their suffering through bad food and 
sickness. 

Mr. Ellis remained here only about nine months, and 
then returned to "old Bryn Mawr," leaving young Rowland 
behind with uncle John Humphreys. So pleased was Mr. 
Ellis with the outlook in the Province, that he bought a 
great deal of wild land in various localities at this time, 
and shortly after, and these land speculations eventually 
caused his financial ruin. 

Mr. Ellis seems to have made his second visit after 1687, 
and before his second marriage, as he brought a certificate 
of good standing from some Meeting (not named, and 
undated), probably the one held at Tyddier y Gareg, near 
Dolgelley, Merioneth, which he filed with the Haverford 
(Radnor) Mo. Mtg. It mentions him as "returning to his 
own country namely Pensilvania." It says that "he was 
free and clear from any promise or Ingagement up on the 
account of Marriage, as far as we know when he parted 
from us," Signed by Robert Ellis, Owen Lewis, Rowland 
Edward Humphrey, Robert and Harry Owen, Ellis Powell, 
Owen Humphrey, John Harry, and William Bevan. How 
long he stayed here is not knovsm. 

In 1696, Mr. Ellis resolved to remove altogether, with 
his family, excepting his daughter Ann, who was left in 
possession of "Bryn Mawr," and who was then married to 
the Episcopal clergyman, to his American possessions. He 
sailed from Liverpool again, with a hundred passengers 
from his neighborhood, who having the experience of their 
former neighbors, provided against the discomforts of a 
long voyage. They arrived at Philadelphia in 4mo. 1697. 
He brought his certificate from the Garthgynfawr Meet- 

[235] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

ing, dated 7. llmo. 1696-7, signed by Lewis Owen, Rowland 
Owen, David Jones, and others. 

He resided for several years in the little house erected 
by Mr. Owen, on his improved land, which he named after 
his paternal home, "Bryn Mawr," a name perpetuated by 
a beautiful town and a college, as his farm adjoined the 
Bryn Mawr College on the North. About 1704, (or was it 
1714?), he erected a more pretentious two-story stone man- 
sion on his "Bryn Mawr" farm, which is still standing, but 
renamed "Harriton" by a subsequent owner. 

An interesting and long letter from Mr. Ellis, written in 
1698, to his son-in-law, Rev. Mr. Johnson, is preserved, (see 
Pa. Mag. 1894), and tells considerable about his new home. 
He wrote : — "Our house lies under ye Cold N. W. wind, and 
just to the South Sun, in a very warm bottom near a stream 
of very good water. We have cleared about this run about 
10 or 12 acres for meadow land, very good soil, black mould 
moist over .... We have as much more such ground for 
meadow, when we may have to enclose it. Few, or none of 
our countrymen have the like conveniency of meadow land. 
We have above six acres of wheat sown in good order, and 
an accer and half of ye last summer fallow for barley. We 
now begin to clear in order for to sow Oats .... We are 
about to enclose with rail fence about 40 accre." 

He said his farm property here was about forty perch 
in length, and four perch in breadth. From his statement, 
it may be imagined Mr. Ellis had but little of his land under 
cultivation, and hardly crops enough to sustain his family, 
and this all seems a very miniature farm, in his great hold- 
ings, for from the minutes of the Land Commissioners, 
12. 2. 1703, we learn that Rowland Ellis, having purchased 
of Richard Davies 1100 acres, by deed dated 30 July, 1682, 
recorded 30. 5. 1684, witnesses being Ellis Morris, Row 
Owen, Owen Lewis, Sr., and Jr., David Evan and Evan 
Harry, he had 500 laid out in Merion, and 483 in Goshen 
tp., having sold 117 acres. And that on resurvey, he had 

[236] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

in Merion 881 acres, and in Goshen 341 acres, and altogether 
1222 acres of land. It was found that he had only 39 acres 
of "over plus" land, and this he promised to pay for, so 
patent was issued to him for 1222 acres. 

By deed of 24 Feb. 17U8, Mr. Ellis, for £180, conveyed 
to Rees Thomas, of Merion, and William Lewis, of New 
Town, 300 acres, "wherein the said Rowland Ellis now 
dwells, with the tract of land thereunto belonging." But 
Mr. Ellis's residence, still standing, was on the following 
property. 

In 1717-9, Rees Thomas and William Lev/is sold 700 acres, 
(the above 300 acres included), and apparently "Bryn 
Mawr," which lay on what is known as the Gulf Road, 
(that is, this road passed diagonally through tEe South 
part of the tract, and bounded it on the South- West), to 
Richard Harrison of Herring Greek, in Maryland, whose 
second wife Hannah, a Friends' minister, was a daughter 
of Judge Isaac Norris, and a granddaughter of Gov. Thomas 
Lloyd. 1719, Oct. 23, Mr. Ellis confirmed by one deed of 
this date, his whole tract of 718 acres to the said Richard 
Harrison, and for which he paid £600. The land of John 
Williams, Hugh Pugh, Thomas Lloyd, Hugh Evans, Owen 
Roberts, Thomas Nicholas, Philip Price, and Peter Jones, 
were bounds to Mr. Ellis's land in 1719. On this land is 
the "Harrison Family Cemetery," where Richard Harrison 
was buried in 1747-8. 

Mr. Harrison's son-in-law, Charles Thomson, the well 
known secretary of the Continental Congress, lived in Mr. 
Ellis's stone house, on the Gulph Road, some three miles 
from Gulph Mill, and changed its name to "Harriton." He 
v/as buried in the Harriton Cemetery, in 1824, with his 
wife. It was while Mr, Thomson lived here, "12 miles from 
the State House," that Gen. James Potter, of the American 
army, wrote the following report to President Wharton, of 
Pensylvania dated 15 Dec. 1777. 

[237] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"Last Thursday the enemy march out of the City with 
a desine to Furridge, but it was Nessecerey to drive me out 
of the way; my advanced picquet fired on them at the 
Bridge; another party of one Hundred attacted them at 
Blaclc Hors. I was encamped on Charles Thomson's place, 
where I staeconed two Regments who attacted the enemy 
with viger. On the next Hill, I staeconed three Regments, 
letting the first line know, that when they were over pow- 
ered, they must Retreat and form behind the second line, 
and in that manner we formed and Retreated for four miles ; 
and on every Hill we disputed the matter with them. My 
people Behaved well, espealy three Regements, Commanded 
by the Cols Chambers, Murrey, and Leacey. His Excellen- 
cey Returned us thanks in public orders.* But the cum- 
plement would have been much more substantiale had the 
Valant Generil Solovan Covered my Retreat with two Devis- 
sions of the Army, he had in my Reare, the front of them 
was about one half mile in my Reare, but he gave orders 
for them to Retreat and join the army who were on the 
other side of the Schuylkill about one mile and a Half from 
me, thus the enemy Got leave to plunder the Countrey, which 
they have dun without parsiality or favour to any, leaving 
none of the Nessecereys of Life Behind them that they 
conveniantly could Carry or destroy." 

In those days, fifty years after he left the neighborhood, 
there were strenuous times about the old home of the mild 
Quaker minister. 

In 1700, Rowland Ellis represented the Welsh Tract, or 
at least Merion, in the Assembly, and generally he was an 
active man in Welsh affairs, and because of his sound judg- 
ment in all cases, civil and religious, he was highly respected. 



*"The Commander-in-Chief, with great pleasure, expresses his 
approbation of the behavior of the Pensylvania Militia yesterday, 
under General Potter, on the vigorous opposition they made to a body 
of the enemy on the other side of the Schuylkill." From "Orderly 
Book," 12 Dec. 1777. 

[238] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

not only by the Welsh Quakers, but in the Province gener- 
ally. His last attendance at Quarterly Meeting was in 
Philadelphia on 31. 6mo. 1731. 

Mr. Elhs was taken suddenly ill, after attending meeting 
at Gwynedd, and died in 7mo. 1731, in his 80th year, at the 
home of his son-in-law, John Evans, in "North Wales," or 
Plymouth, Philadelphia Co. (where he lived in 1717), and 
was buried there in the ground of the Gwynedd Monthly 
Meeting, which Meeting prepared a Memorial respecting 
him, stating he had "a gift in the ministry which was ac- 
ceptable and to edification." 

About 1672, Rowland Ellis* was married first to his 
cousin, Margaret Ellis, daughter of Ellis Morris, of Dolgun, 
and by her had a son and a daughter : 

Ann Ellis, "married out," in 1696, to the Rev. Richard 
Johnson, of the "Established," or P. E. Church, who was the 
curate of Dolgelly, and had issue. Mr. Ellis was much 
attached to his wayward daughter, but as she was disowned, 
he did not know, in 1699, if she was living, and virote to 
inquire "whether she is quite dead." 

Rowland Ellis, Jr., who came over with his father in 
1686-1687, seems to have died without issue. On 19. 3mo. 
1725, he requested warrant of the Commissioners for 
the survey on 3,000 acres which he had purchased, paying 
£130, by deed, dated 3 April, 1724, of Daniel Warley, Jr., 
the son and heir of a London wool merchant, who had 
bought the land in 1695. 

Mr. Ellis married secondly, after his second trip to Pen- 
sylvania, his cousin Margaret Roberts, daughter of Robert 
ap Owen Lewis, of Dyffryddan, and had by her, who died at 



*In her will, marked in the presence of Edward Rees and Rowland 
Ellis, on 9. 8mo. 1716, proved 19 Aug. 1717, Rachel Ellis, of Haver- 
ford, mentions cousin Rowland Ellis and Elizabeth Ellis, and her 
brother Evan Ellis, and William Ellis, and sisters Elizabeth, Bridget, 
and Rebecca Ellis. 

[239] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Plymouth, about 1730, four children, of whom Elizabeth, 
Robert, and Catherine, b. 1697, died unmarried, and 

Ellin Ellis, (or Eleanor) who d. 29. 4mo. 1765, aged 75 
years. She married at the Merion Meeting, on 8. 4mo. 1715, 
John Evans, of Gwynedd, Philadelphia Co., a Friends' min- 
ister, (a son of Cadwalader Evans, 1664-1745, of Gwynedd) , 
and had by him, who d. 23. 9mo. 1756, (his will dated 16. 
9mo. 1756, proved 22 June, 1757), eight children. Of these 
the only known grandchildren of Rowland Ellis, of "Bryn 
Mawr," — 

Cadwalader Evans, 1716-1773, m. Jane Owen. 

Rowland Evans, 1718-1789, m. Susanna Foulke. 

Margaret, wife of Anthony Williams. 

Jane, wife of John Hubbs. 

Ellen, second wife of Ellis Lewis. 

Elizabeth Evans, spinster, 1726-1805. 

John Evans, 1730-1807, m. Margaret Foulke. 

Thomas Ellis, of Dolserre, in Merionethshire, having 
bought a great deal of the Robert Davies land, is included in 
this section though he was not one of his subscribers, but was 
originally an independent purchaser from Penn. He was 
one of the party of Welsh Quakers who interviewed Penn, 
in London, in May, 1681, about land in his Province, and, 
being a personal friend of John ap Thomas, accompanied 
him. Becoming convinced of Penn's representations, he 
bought from him 1,000 acres, on his own account, and not as 
a trustee, or "Adventuring Company," which land was sub- 
sequently laid out to him in the upper part of Merion. 

It is supposed that Thomas Ellis was born in Mont- 
gomeryshire, though there is nothing definite known of 
his people. When he first came into notice, he is a minister 
among Friends, and travelled much throughout Wales, often 
in the company of the missionary, John Burnyeat, and was 
arrested at Machynlleth, and at Aberystwith, for being at 
meetings and preaching, and was imprisoned, and "suffered" 

[240] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

in other ways, and by 1683, he had had enough of Wales, 
joined the party of Hugh Roberts, and came over to Pen- 
sylvania. 

He filed with the Philadelphia Mo. Mtg. his certificate 
from the Dolserre Quarterly Meeting, dated 27. 5 mo. 1683. 
He also filed with the Haverford Mo. Mtg. his certificate 
issued to himself, his wife, and family, from the Mo. Mtg. 
at Redstone, in Pembrokeshire, dated 2. 7mo. 1683, signed 
by Edward Lloyd, John Poyer, John Bourge, James Thomas, 
William Jenkins, Evan Rowen, Lewis James, James Lewis, 
Richard White, David John, David Rees, and Peregrin Mus- 
grave. 

Where Mr. Ellis, with his wife and family, resided after 
settling here, is not known, but from the following letter, of 
1685, it was not far from the Haverford Meeting house, and, 
afterwards, in the city, on account of his public life, and 
because of his travels. In the Province, he became a man of 
considerable prominence, even among the English, and, at 
the time of his decease, he was the register-general of the 
Province. His speculations in land were extensive and 
intricate, and on this account his estate was involved in 
litigation which caused his executor considerable trouble. 

There is a rather interesting letter, printed in full in the 
Journal of the Friends' Historical Society, London, (issue 
of Nov. 1909), written by Thomas Ellis, while at Dublin, 
dated 13. 4mo. 1685, addressed "To Phillipp ffoord att Hood 
an Scarff in Bow Lane, London, for G. ff, these deliv'r with 
Care." This was the Mr. Ford with whom and his shrewd wife 
Mr. Penn had certainly peculiar relations, of which else- 
where, and which are fully set out by Mr. Shepherd in his 
"History of Proprietary Government in Pensylvania." 

Mr. Ellis's letter was written on his return from Pen- 
sylvania, where he writes he had "left a tender wife and a 
considerable family of children and Servants well settled 
and ordered, considering the time, in a good neighborhood." 

[241] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"Abt 15 families of us have taken our Land together 
and are to be abt 8 more that have not yet com, we took (to 
begin) 30 accres a piece, we built upon and doe improve 
[this land], and the other Land we have for Range to our 
cattell." 

■ "We have our buriyng place where we intend our [Haver- 
ford] meeting house [shall be], as neer as we can to the 
Center, [of the settlement]. Our first day and week dayes 
meetings [are] well observed, besides our mens and womena 
meetings, and another Monthly Meeting [besides the great 
Philadelphia Mo. Mtg.], both in week dayes, unto wch four 
townships, [Merion, Haverford, Radnor and Schuylkill] at 
least belongs." 

Mr. Ellis advises Friends to remove from Wales to Pen- 
sylvania, because there is no hope, so far as he can see, 
of their ever doing so well, or of ever being better off than 
now, in the old country. 

"I cam from home since the 12mo. intending to Be at the 
yearly meeting but could not have any shipping for 6 weeks 
being there was so much winter wether the like was hardly 
known, and so no seasoning wether for their tobacco, and 
a sore visitation in Mariland, in so much that hundreds dyed 
there in this last falls and winter of all sorts of people, 3 
or 4 doctors [died] on the easter shore while I was there, 
dear Thomas Taylor and his wife [of Maryland] , and Bryan 
Mele and Thomas ffurby, and many others, servicable 
friends, by a violent feaver, but it seems to be well over 
before I cam thence." 

"I suppose you have had an account of Pensilvania affairs 
by newyork as was intended at the monthly meeting at 
Philadelphia," he asks Mr. Fox, whom he addressed as "My 
dear and fatherly friend," and informs him, "the president 
[Thomas Lloyd] was not then at home, but was expected 
from newyork." 

"Several young people continue to com over without cer- 
tificates which is a trouble to friends. I am like to con- 

[242] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

tinue in Wales a while when I would be glad to meet with 
William Bingley or such. 

[Signed] "Thou knowest Tho Ellis."* He requests his 
mail lying in London be forwarded to him in care of "Pere- 
grine Musgraves, clothier, in Haverford west^ in Penbroke- 
Bhire, South Wales." 

In the "P. S.", Mr. Ellis continues, "I have sent a few 

lines for W. P." "dated here abt 4 dayes agoe." "If W. 

P. [has] not received it let him have part of this" [letter] , 

Thomas Ellis's first grant, by general description, was 
1,000 acres, located in Merion. On survey it came out 819 
acres, and on a resurvey only 735 acres, which gives us 
a fair idea of the ability of Penn's official surveyors at 
that time. 

"Of the Richard Davies purchase Thomas Ellis, gent., of 
Jsoregenan, in Merioneth, bought of the mesme purchasers," 
namely, Lewis Owen and Rowland Owen, of Gwanas, Ellis 
Maurice (or Morris) , of Dolgunucha, and EUis Pugh, 625 
acres in Merion, for himself, and 1,000 acres as agent for 
ethers. These purchases were conveyed by deeds dated in 
1684 and 1686, and witnessed by Owen Lewis, Evan Harry, 
and John Humphrey, of Llanwddyn. Mr. Ellis took up 
these lands by warrants, dated 3. llmo. 1687., and kept for 
his trouble all of the lands in the city Liberties, due on ac- 
count of the purchases, besides all of the "overs." From the 
land records, he seems to have had over 3400 acres at one 
time, made up of Penn's grant, Davis' land, sundry rights, 
and "over-plus," but he had only between 800 and 900 acres 
in various places when he died. 

Mr. Ellis was buried in the ground of the Haverford 
Mtg. By his will, dated 1. llmo. 1688, he desired that all 
of his land should be sold by his executors to pay his debts, 
but those he named as executors declined to act, because 



*For other particulars as to Thomas Ellis, see George Smith's "His- 
tory of Delaware County," Pa., and "The Philadelphia Friend," maga- 
zine, XXVII. 

[243] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

of the tangled state of his lands. Nor would his relict 
administer, and settle up his estate, for the same reason, 
and by her will, threw all this trouble to her executor Dan- 
iel Humphrey, and he generously undertook the task with 
the assistance of the meeting. 

As executor, Mr. Humphrey, by deed dated 5. 7mo. 1698, 
conveyed what was remaining of the Penn grant, about 
625 acres, and 194 acres, in Merion to John WiUiams, and 
settled Ellis's account with William Penn, as he owed Penn 
£12.7.9, (being the balance due on the "1,000 acres," or 
763 and 84 acres, at 5s. per acre)^ — with a credit of £30 
Penn owed him. Some of Mr. Ellis's land lay in Duflfryn 
Mawr, and Bertha Rowles bought 250 acres out of it, and in 
1701, his daughter, Rachel Ellis, held 250 acres there, in 
his right. 

A further account shows that Mr. Ellis had also about 
790 acres in Haverford, as there were the following distri- 
butions and sales: — To his widow, Ellin, 30; son Ellis 
Ellis, 200 ; (and 30 from John Bevan) ; daughter "Brigid" 
100; son Humphrey Ellis, 90; (60, 20 and 10 acres), sold 
to Daniel Humphrey, 100 (90 only in Haverford) ; to George 
Painter, 90; (sold to John Lewis, Sr.) ; to Daniel Lawrence, 
90, (who also bought Humphrey Ellis's 90) ; to same, 60; 
to Daniel Humphrey, 20; to William Howell, 10, (sold to 
Rowland Powel) . Or, there was sold 690 acres, and daughter 
Rachel Ellis had besides 101 acres in Haverford. 

In 1700, Daniel Humphrey, of Haverford, held some 200 
acres, made up of 90 acres bought (23. 12. 1684) from 
Thomas Elhs; 30 acres from Mr. Ellis and wife Ellin; 20% 
acres from Humphrey Ellis, son of said Thomas, by deed, 
8. 9mo. 1694, and 60 acres from William Rowe, by deed of 
30 May 1700. 

Thomas Ellis was survived by his wife, Ellen, (surname 
unknown). Her will to which she put her mark, witnessed 
by David Llewellyn, Benjamn Humphreys, Theodore Rob- 
ert, and John Humphrey, 27. 1. 1692, was proved 18. 12mo. 

[244] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

1692-3. She left her estate to daughter Rachel Ellis, and 
if she died before receiving it, then to the six children, 
unnamed, of her sisters, Lowry and Gwen. Appoints as 
executor, nephew Daniel Humphrey. To be trustees, Grif- 
fith Owen, William Howell, Edward Jones, John Roberts, 
Robert Owen, and John Humphreys. 
Of their children : — 

Ellis Ellis. He received some of his father's land, and 
held a warrant for re-survey, 18. 12mo. 1701, two parcels; 
found to be 330 acres, including 63 acres "over plus," which 
he promised to buy at 7s, 6d. per acre. He m. Lydia, daugh- 
ter of Samuel and Elizabeth Humphrey, of Haverford. 

The land deeds of the old Haverford School, and Hav- 
erford College, show the college land was originally part 
of the 410 acres which Richard Davies conveyed, on 19. 
6mo. 1686, to Thomas Ellis, gentleman, Francis Howell, 
yeoman, James Thomas, yeoman, Morgan David, husband- 
man, and Francis Llcyd, shoemaker. And also that land 
which Ellis Ellis, of Haverford, yeoman, conveyed, by deed 
dated 25. 12mo. 1703, to "Robert Wharton, cordwainer," 
and his wife, Rachel, (a daughter of Thomas Ellis) , name- 
ly 255 acres of his father's land, for fifty shillings, Pensyl- 
vania money, is part of the college land. 

Humphrey Ellis, living in 1699. 

Rachel Ellis, m. Robert Wharton. 

"Brigid Ellis," who d. in England. 

Eleanor Ellis, who m. David Lawrence, of Haverford. He 
came over from Wales about 1683. His will, signed 12. 2mo. 
1699, in the presence of John Roberts, Rowland Powell, and 
John Bevan, was proved 1 July 1699. He left his estate 
to his wife and eldest son, Daniel. Names sons, Henry and 
Thomas, and daughters, Margaret, Eleanor and Rachel Law- 
rence, overseers, "brothers Ellis Ellis and Humphrey 

[245] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Ellis," and William Howell. Thomas Lawrence* m. Sarah, 
6. 1685, daughter of William ap Edward, of Blockley, and 
his second wife, her sister, Ellen, b. 1691, m. Henry Law- 
rence, and their brother "Edward Williams," of Blockley, 
m. Eleanor Lawrence. 

John Williams who bought in 1698, the balance of Thomaa 
Ellis's Merion land, as above, sold 10. 5. 1700, some of it 
to Hugh Jones and John Evans (John Evans held 200 acres 
of this land, in 12mo, 1701). 

Mr. Humphrey, the executor to both Thomas Ellis and his 
wife, as above, by deed dated 20. Imo. 1701, conveyed 
4091/^ acres of Ellis's land to Robert Lloyd, and Hugh Jones, 
aforesaid, and let Robert have 150 acres, which he con- 
veyed to his brother, Thomas Lloyd. 

The brothers, Robert Lloyd and Thomas Lloyd, came over 
in Hugh Roberts's and John Sevan's party, in 1683, from 
Merioneth, and were young and unmarried. They next 
appear as subscribing witnesses at the marriage of Robert 
Roberts and Katherine Jones, at the Haverford Meeting, 
5. 3mo. 1696. Robert was one of the overseers to the will 
of Robert Owen, of Merion. 

Robert Lloyd's first purchase of land, as above, was loca- 
ted North of "Bryn Mawr" (Rowland ElKs's tract), and 
was a portion of the Richard Davies grant from Penn. 
Robert had 2591/2 acres of this surveyed and laid out, in 
12mo. 1701. 

1703, 8mo. 4. Before the Land Commissioners, Robert 
Lloyd produced return of 432 acres, in Merion, on re-survey, 
on warrant dated 20. 2mo. 1703, to survey to him 409 acres, 
"being part of 819 acres out of Thomas Ellis's land." He 
requested a patent. Granted. And on 6. 12mo. 1707-8, he 
had title to his land confirmed to him, and this for good 
reasons, as explained elsewhere. 

*From him are descended Abraham Lewis Smith, of Media, and 
Benj. Hayes Smith, of Philadelphia, who are also descended from 
Dr. Thomas Wynne, Dr. Edward Jones, Robert Owen, of Merion, Ralph 
Lewis, etc. 

[246] 



COMPANY NUMBER SEVEN 

Robert Lloyd* died 29. 3mo. 1714, and was buried at the 
Merion Meeting House. His will, signed 30 April, r714, 
witnessed by Edward Foulke, William Roberts (marked), 
and Thomas Albin, was proved 16 Nov. same year, by his 
wife, Lowry. He names his children, David, Robert, Rees, 
Richard, Hannah, Gwen, Sarah, and Gainor. Mentions 
Edward Thomas and Owen Roberts, and his brother Thomaa 
Lloyd, and iiiftmed as trustees, Robert and Richard Jones, 
Thomas Lloyd, Jr., and friends Robert Evan, Rowland Ellis, 
and Robert Jones, of Merion. 

He married at the Merion Meeting, on 11. 8mo. 1698, 
Lowry Jones, who died 25. llmo. 1762, aged 80 years, and 
was buried with her husband. She was a child of Rees John 
William, of Merion. Of their children : — 

Hannah m. first, John Roberts, Jr., (grandson of Owen 
Humphrey) and had John Roberts, 3d. b. 1721, and m. sec- 
ondly, William Paschall, issue, and m. thirdly, Peter Os- 
borne, issue. 

Richard Lloyd, 1714-1755, of Darby, m. at Darby Mtg. 
24. 9. 1736, Hannah daughter of Samuel and Sarah Sellers, 
and had Hugh Lloyd, 1742-1832, of Chester Co., colonel 
of 3d Battalion, presidential elector and associate judge. 

Robert Lloyd, m. Catherine Humphrey. Issue. 

Thomas Lloyd, the younger of the brothers, held in 12mo. 
1701, the 150 (or 1541/^) acres in Merion, which had been 
a part of the Thomas Ellis estate, and lay North of "Bryn 
Mawr," and by deed, dated 10 Feb. 1709, his brother Robert 
further conveyed to him 154 acres of his land North of 
"Bryn Mawr," on payment of £40. He was a farmer, and 
his will, marked 26. 5mo. 1741, was proved 6 Feb. 1748; 

*From Robert Lloyd are descended Howard Williams Lloyd, Wm. 
Supplee Lloyd, and the brothers Samuel Bunting Lewis, Davis Levis 
Lewis, George Harrison Lewis, and Osborn G. L. Lewis, of Phila- 
delphia, descendants also of William Lewis, who came over in 1686-7. 
Samuel Marshall, of West Chester, Pa. is also descended from Robert 
Lloyd, and from Rees John William, of Merion. 

[247] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

witnesses, David Davids and Richard Lloyd, trustees to be 
"neighbors Richard Lloyd and Griffith Llew^ellyn." 

Thomas Lloyd was married about 1698, by a justice of 
the peace, to Elizabeth, b. 1672, who survived him, daughter 
of William ap Edward, or Edwards, of Blockley, By his 
first wife. They appeared before the Merion Meeting, on 
8. 6mo. 1700, and humbled themselves for "marrying out." 
Her will, signed 2 Dec. 1748, was proved 6 Feb. 1748-9. 
They had seven children: Thomas, 1699-176-, resided in 
Bucks Co., Pa. ; Sarah, m. at Merion Mtg. 8. 9mo. 1721, John 
Morgan (son of Edward, of Gwynedd) ; Jane, m. first at 
Merion Mtg. 8. 8. 1725, Lewis Williams, of Gwynedd ; John 
1704-1770, m. at Merion Mtg. 31. 10. 1731, Eleanor, daugh- 
ter of Henry and Catherine Pugh ; Elizabeth, m. at Merion 
Mtg. 9. 8mo. 1728, Joseph Morgan (brother to above John) ; 
Evan and William. 

Having now brought nearly all of the Welsh "first pur- 
chasers," and the early settlers to their new homes in the 
great Welsh tract, a review of the peculiar claims they made 
on Penn, or set up for themselves, and how they tried to 
substantiate them, and, failing in this, see how it was that 
"the Welsh tract," as a district and indentity was wiped-off 
the map of Pensylvania should be interesting. 



r248] 



Henry Right 
Daniell Med- 



Acres. 
. . 500 
. . 200 



WELSH TRACT PLANTERS 

The following is the summary of the foregoing transac- 
tions, and others in the Welsh tract, set forth in "D. Pow- 
els Acct of ye Welch Purchasers in Genl," in which he gives 
his personal "Account of the purchasers Concurned in the 
Welch Tract Granted by the Generall war't by wich the said 
Tract was Laid out and such Lands as hath bin Laid out 
by war'ts Dulie Executed within the same and ist of ye ould 
England Parishes": — 

Acres. 
Charles Lloyd, and 

Margaret Davis 5,000 

Eichard Davis, [Davies] . .5,000 

William Jenkins 1,000 

John Poy, [Poj^er] 750 

John Burge 750 

William Mordant 500 

William Powell 1,250 

Lewis David 3,000 

Morris Llewlin 500 

Thomas Simons 500 

John Bevan 2,000 

Edward Prichard 2,500 

John ap John, and 

Thomas Wyn 5,000 

Edward Joanes, and 

John Thomas 5,000 

Richard Davis 1,250 

Richard ap Thomas 5,000 

Daniell Hurry, [Harry] . . 300 
Mordicia Moore in 

Eight of 500 

John Millington 500 



Thomas Ellis 1,000 

Tho Ellis for B. Eoules. . . 250 
Th. Ellis on ac't Humph. 

Tho 100 

David Powell 1,000 

Burke and Simson 1,000 

John Kinsy 200 

John Kinsy 100 

David Meredith 250 

John Day 300 

.David Davis 200 

Henry Joanes 400 

Thomas John Evan 250 

John Evans 100 

John Jormon 50 

David Kinsy 200 

Evan Oliver 100 

Samuel Mills 100 

Thomas Joanes 50 

David Joanes , 100 

John Ffish 300 



"The whole Compl'nt 50,000 acres." 

As there are only forty-one grants in this list, and Holme's 
map indicated more than twice this number of land owners 



[249] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

in the Welsh Tract, it may be presumed that Holme did not 
compile " his map as early as he claimed, when testifying 
before the Council as to the positions of the townships of 
Haverford and Radnor, as will appear. 

In this summary by Surveyor David Powel, without date, 
we find the names of the first large purchasers of land in 
Merion township, John Thomas and Dr. Jones, and those 
of the other six "Companies," or adventurers for Welsh 
Tract plantations, and also those of the other large inde- 
pendent "first purchasers," some of whose land was laid 
out in Merion, besides in Haverford, Radnor, and Goshen 
townships, and it may be noticed that there were very few 
not strictly Welsh had been granted land in the tract. 

Although the acreage given by Powel exceeded the orig- 
inal total of the grants to the Welsh, namely 40,000 acres, 
and took in much of the supplementary 10,000 acres re- 
served for them, it did not come up to "the whole Compl'nt 
50,000 acres." Mr. Powel, however, may have inadvertently 
overlooked some grantees, but it appears that he remem- 
bered to record a tract of 1,000 acres in his own name, and 
its future location he had probably selected, for which he 
had deed from Penn. It seems to have been for services as 
a surveyor, but the grant was not confirmed to him till in 
1705, as mentioned below. 

For the above reason, the date of Powel's list cannot be 
approximated by the mention of his own land, 1,000 acres. 
For his surveying work for the Land Commissioners, he 
probably received from them little cash ; but he was granted 
small parcels of land, and realized what he could by the 
sale of them. He had a patent from the Commissioners, 
dated 14. 3mo. 1686, for 611 acres, which he laid out in 
Radnor tp., in two tracts, 500 and 111 acres, and this is his 
first land-ownership of record. This represented £100 to 
him. On 22. 5mo. 1687, he sold 100 acres of this patent to 
John Evans, adjoining the land of Hugh Samuel. On 17. 
llmo. 1690, he sold 100 acres more to said Hugh Samuel, 
(servant to Thomas Ellis), adjoining the land of David 

[250] 



PLANTERS AND SERVANTS 

Hugh. On 17. 3mo. 1690, he sold another 100 acres to James 
Pugh (servant to Steven Bevan), adjoining land of David 
Pugh, and by another deed of this date, he sold 200% acres 
and closed out his 500 acres, to William Davis and Griffith 
Miles, the land adjoining Hugh Samuel. Of this land, Wil- 
liam and Griffith sold 150 acres to Philip Philips, whose 
widow, Phoebe, sold the same to David Pugh, and, by deed 
22. 6mo. 1690, William and Griffith sold their balance of 
50 acres to James Pugh, aforesaid, and here was the "Pugh 
District" in Radnor. 

John Evans, aforesaid, by deed of 10. 5mo. 1700, bought 
200 acres in Merion, adjoining Rowland Ellis, from John 
Williams, who had it from the Richard Davies tract, (Com- 
pany No. 7), through Thomas Ellis and Daniel Humphrey. 

Evan Harry, by deed of 10. lOmo. 1687, bought 90 acres 
from Surveyor Powel, who received it, 7. 7mo. 1687, from 
JDavid Lloyd, the lawyer, as a fee, who bought it from the 
attorneys of Richard Davies, 15. 6mo. 1687. Evan Harry 
also bought 74 acres more from Powel, and Abel Roberts, 
son of Ellis Roberts, of Radnor, also bought 100 acres from 
Powel, by deed of 1. 6mo. 1693, confirmed 9. 6mo. 1703, and 
these sales exceeded his patents. 

In 1704-5, Powel was still the Proprietor's surveyor in 
the Welsh Tract on the Schuylkill, and receiving no cash for 
his work, as he states in his petition, he asked the Commis- 
sioners, 28. llmo. 1705, to grant him 1,000 acres he had 
selected in the Welsh Tract. He asked this, because he 
had been compensated with only the above mentioned 500 
acres. Petition granted, providing he could find any vacant 
land, which, as an old surveyor in that section, he easily 
could, and apparently had. His lands were quickly disposed 
of, as he may have been a good judge of land, and guar- 
anteed his bounds. 

The following transportation agreement between Mr. 
Powell and a skipper, suggests that he brought over the pas- 
sengers to buy land from him about this time. 

[251] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"Articles of ffreig-htment, covenanted, indented and made 
the seventh day of March, 1697-8, between Owen Thomas, 
of the county burrough of Carmathen, mercer, owner of the 
good shipp called the William Galley, now residing in the 
river of Towny, of the one part, and 

"David Powell, of the parish of Nantmell, in the county 
of Radnor, and John Morris, of the parish of Karbardam- 
fyneth, in the said county of Radnor, yeomen, of the other 
part, 

"Contract to take to Pensilvania after 10th of May, start- 
ing with first good wind and weather, from said river 
Towny, and tov^Ti of Rhaygsder, to Philadelphia in Pensil- 
vania, with them and passengers and goods." The charge 
for transportation to be £5 for each adult over 12 years old, 
persons under 12 years, fifty shillings, sucking children and 
freight up to twenty tons, free. The head of each family 
v/as also charged "ffive shillings encouragement to the doc- 
tor belonging to said shipp, and all single persons except 
servants, to pay one shilling each." 

The following is the list of principals in this venture, and 
how many each paid for in his party : 

David Powell paid for 11 passengers. 

John Morris paid for 6. 

Margaret Jones paid for 3. 

Edward Moore paid for 4. 

Thomas Powell paid for 31/4- 

Thomas Griffith paid for 2. 

Rees Rees paid for 41/2. 

Edward Nicholas paid for 4. 

Thomas Watts, 1. 

Winnifred Oliver paid for 5 passengers. 

Evan Powell paid for 5. 

Thomas Jerman paid for 3. 

John Powell paid for 2. 

James Price paid for 2. 

John Vaikaw (?) 1. 

Lumley Williams, 1. 

[252] 



PLANTERS AND SERVANTS 

Ann Lewis, 1. 

Walter Ingram, 1. 

Benjamin Davis, 1. 

"John Burge, of Haverford-West, Pembrokeshire, cloth- 
ier," mentioned in Powel's list, was another of Penn's per- 
sonal customers for Welsh Tract land. He bought by deed, 
dated 24. 8mo. 1681, 750 acres which were to be laid out in 
Haverford in several tracts. One of these, 250 acres, it 
was discovered, was laid out on land owned by Humphrey 
Ellis, and after a litigation, Burge had to look elsewhere to 
locate this parcel, so he sold the 250 acre right to William 
Kelly, of Haverford-West, a weaver, who had 141 acres 
of it laid out in Haverford, and 30 acres in city liberties and 
lots. On 2. lOmo. 1694, said Kelly sold the 141 acres to 
Humphrey Ellis, who had also bought 79 acres from John 
Burge, or from Kelly, which he sold, for £8.9. Pensylvania 
money, 15 Feb. 1703, to Henry Lewis. 

Edward ap Richard, or Prichard, on Powel's list, was 
another of Penn's personal customers. He took 2,500 acres, 
deed dated 14 April, 1682, which was confirmed by patent 
dated 18. 3mo. 1685 ; 1,250 acres were to be laid out in Mer- 
ion, and balance in Radnor. Many of his deeds are of rec- 
ord in the office of the Recorder. 

John Poyer, on Powel's list, also purchased of Penn, by 
deed dated 24. 8mo. 1681, 750 acres, and by deed of 3 June, 
1686, he sold the rights to 250 acres to Henry Sanders, who 
had the same resurveyed to himself, on Commissioner's 
warrant, dated 16. 12mo. 1701, when Owen Thomas re- 
quested a warrant to take up this land. 

"William Jenkins, of Tenby, in Pembrokeshire, emascu- 
lator," (subsequently of Abington tp.), on Powel's list, 
bought of Penn 1,000 acres by deed dated 24. 8mo. 1681. 
Of this grant, 245 acres were laid out to him in Duffrin 
Mawr tp., 12. llmo. 1689. By deed of 30. 7mo. 1686, he 
conveyed 250 acres to James Thomas, late of Landboyden, 
Carmarthenshire, a husbandman, which, on resurvey, 
amounted to 300 acres, and Penn issued a warrant for that 

[253] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

amount, 2. 7mo. 1701. Afterwards, James was astonished 
to learn that his purchase was not within the Welsh Tract, 
and, on 16. 12mo. 1701, requested a new warrant for Welsh 
Tract land to this amount, which the Commissioners 
granted, provided he could find such an amount of unclaimed 
land in the tract. But it seems he could not, as by his will 
he devised to his son, Nathan Thomas, lands in Duffrin 
Mawr. 

William Jenkins, by deed of 3. 7mo. 1686, sold 500 acres to 
Francis Howel, of Lancilio, in Carmarthanshire, who de- 
vised 300 acres of the purchase to Thomas Howel, which 
he sold, by deed 1. 7. 1700, to above James Thomas, 

From the number of these sales of land, it might be sup- 
posed that Penn had no difficulty in getting rid of his land ; 
but he had, even before Ford's persecution cast a shadow 
on the titles. For some reason the bottom dropped out of 
his real estate business after the first boom, and when he 
supposed 100 "barons" in the "House of Lords" — each to 
buy 5,000 acres, was too small a number to stop at, he sud- 
denly discovered that he might not be able to have even 
half that number of "Lords." And his order that "no 1,000 
acre lot could be increased contiguously, unless within three 
years there was a family settled on each 1,000 acres," shows 
how sparsely the country must have been settled at that 
period. 

In the early land records of Chester Co., for the town- 
ships of Radnor and Haverford, there are records of the 
following early grantees. 

These had deeds for land : 

1681. Acres. 

March 3. Lewis David 3,000 

" " Thomas Rowland 1,000 

" David Powell 1,000 

March 17. John Bevan 2,000 

" 22. Thomas Ellis 1,000 

" Thomas Holme 5,000 

" Joseph Powell 250 

" Thomas Powell 500 

June 16. Richard Davies 1,250 

[254] 



PLANTERS AND SERVANTS 



1681 Acres. 

July 13. Thomas Rudyard 5,000 

Sept. 14. John & Wynne 5,000 

" Richard Davies 5,000 

Oct. 24. John Poyer 750 

Jan. 19. Morris Llewelyn 500 

" William Sharlow* 5,000 

These had patents for land. 

Haverford tp. 

1684. 11. 29. Thomas Ellis 791 

1688. 5. 23. Charles & John Bevan 230 

1703. 8. 25. Ellis Ellis 425 

1703. 8. 25. Daniel Humphrey 241 

1704. 2. 4. John Bevan 508 

1706. 5. 20. Henry Lewis 488 

Mar pie tp. 

1688. 5. 23. Charles & John Bevan 750 

1694. 2. 21. Thomas Ellis 330 

Radnor tp. 

1684. 5. 29. Thomas V/ynne 250 

1685. 5. 30. David Davis 200 , 

1686. 3, 14. David Powell 611 

1687. 7. 9. David Powell 300 

1688. 8. 1. Reese Prece 200 

1689. 3. 26. David Meredith 350 

1701. 7. 30. Evan Rodderch 122 

1703. 8. 25. John Evan Edward 123 

1703. 8. 25. Margaret Jai-mon 152 

1703. 8. 25. David Pugh 174 

1703. 8. 25. James Pugh 162 

1703. 9. 1. Thomas John Evan 340 

. 1703. 9. 1. Edward David 155 . 

1704. 1. 14. John Evans 300 

1704. 3. 1. David Meredith 253 

* William Sharlow was a London merchant. He purchased from 
Mr. Penn, by deed dated 2. 5mo. 1683, besides the above, 500 acres, 
which was laid out and surveyed to him, 30. 7mo. 1684, and named 
"Mount Ararat." It lay on the Schuylkill, above the Thomas & Jones 
tract, but not adjoining it, as in Holme's map. Mr. Sharlow's Pen- 
sylvania attorney, by deed of 5. lOmo. 1692, conveyed 150 acres of 
"Mt. Ararat" to Thomas Potts, who by deed of 2. 2mo. 1695, conveyed 
his purchase to David Hugh, who sold the same to "Robert Jones, of 
Meirio'n, Labourer," or "Robert Jones, Yeoman, of Meirion," who 
was a son of John ap Thomas. 

[255] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Some of the properties of early settlers were located 
about as follows: 

Along the East boundary, ( a line and the Haverf ord road, 
about 3% miles) , of Radnor, in Merion, on the upper side, 
where are the settlements of Villa Nova and Rosemont, were 
the great estates of Rowland Ellis and John Eckley. And 
in Radnor, along and between this line, and where "Radnor 
Street," (or the present Radnor road, crossing Eagle road, 
if continued straight to the opposite line) , was to have been, 
passing through the center of the township. North and 
South, beginning at the upper end, were the properties of 
Evan Lloyd, Abel Roberts, John and William Thomas, Mat- 
thew Jones, David David, Richard Humphrey, John Mor- 
gan, Henry Lewis, John Jarman, John Evans, Roger Hugh, 
David Frees, David Meredith, David James, Thomas Rees 
and Stephen Evan. 

In the same position in Haverford, that is between the 
line of the proposed "Haverford Street," through the center 
of the township from North to South, and the Eastern 
boundary line, about 314 miles long, were the properties 
of Hugh David, William Lewis, Thomas Rees, David and 
Ralph Lewis, Rees Rotherow, William Ellis, Ellis Ellis, 
Robert Wharton, Thomas Ellis, Lewis David, Daniel Hum- 
phrey, William Howeli, all lying above the road passing the 
Haverford Meeting House towards the road to Darby. And 
below this road, John Lewis, John Havard, Henry Ellis, 
David Hugh, Henry Lewis, Daniel Lawrence, Richard 
Hayes, Samuel Lewis. In both townships. West of the im- 
aginary streets, were the properties of some others. And 
in Merion, along the Haverford township line, at Haverford 
College station on the railroad, and below Wynnewood sta- 
tion, were the great estates of John Humphrey and John 
Bevan. 

In 1734, the following Welshmen each paid assessments 
on 100 acres of land in Philadelphia county: Hugh Thomas, 
Daniel Jones, David George, John Thomas, James Jones, 
William Roberts, Evan Rees, John Humphrey, George 

[256] 



PLANTERS AND SERVANTS 

George, Lewis Jones and Edward Williams; "Robert Rob- 
erts, of Mirian," 50; David Morgan, 19, and "Thomas 
Winne," 50 acres in Blockley. 

In an undated paper (1693?) at the Historical Society 
of Pensylvania, giving "The Valuation of the Estates of 
the Inhabitants of the Township of Merion," and the amount 
of tax each was to pay ("one penny on the pound"), we 
have a list of Merion people, many of whose names are 
familiar, as follows: — 

Merion. Valuation. Meriom. Valuation. 

John Roberts £120 Robert Owen 100 

Hugh Jones 40 John Roberts "of the Wain" 100 

Cadwalader Morgan 90-- Robert Jones 72 

Rowland Richard 30 -' David Hugh 60 

Robert David [collector] . . 100 Katherine David 30 

Hugh Roberts 150 John Williams 30 

Katherine Thomas 100 Benjamin Humphreys .... 60 

Griffith John 110 Reece Thomas ._. 100 

Richard Waiter 70 Philip and Isaac Price. ... 60 

Abel Thomas 30 Peter Jones 30 

Reece Jones 60 John Robert Ellis 30 

Edward Jones 90 Edward Jones 72 

Edward Reece 120 Edward Griffith 72 

Richard Cuarton 80 William Cuarton 30 

David Pugh 30 Thomas Rees 30 

David Price 30 Owen Morgan 30 

Daniel Thomas 50 John Moore 30 

Evan Bevan 80 Thomas Howell 40 

David Havard, James Thomas, Sen'r 70 

"with 200 acres of Land". . 82 James Thomas, Ju'n'r 40 

The following men of Merion were each assessed six shill- 
ings, vdthout valuations, (which was the tax paid on all 
estate valuations of £72), and probably were fi'eemen: — 

Evan Harry. William Roberts. 

Thomas Jones. Robert William. 

David Ryederch. Philip Wallis. 

Meredith Davids. Owen Thomas. 

Joshua Owen. Robert David. 

Edward Edwards. Robert Hugh. 

Robert Lloyd. John Owen. 

Thomas Jones. Evan Harry, weaver. 

[257] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Robert David, who lived in Merion fifty years, was the 
collector of this tax, and he endorsed on the list, "Paid to 
James Fox, Recorder." If Mr. Fox was a recorder of Phila- 
delphia County, none of the accepted-as-correct printed lists 
of them include his name. Mr. Fox was commissioned, 12 
Feb. 1697-8, a justice of the Philadelphia county court, and 
was a member of the Assembly 1688-1699; will proved at 
Philadelphia, 10 April, 1701. 

It is presumed that the aforesaid assessment was made 
in 1693, because it is known that in this year there was one 
made in Chester Co., as below, for the same amount of tax, 
namely, "one penny per pound on Estates," and "six shill- 
ings per head on freemen." This was probably the levy 
noticed in the minutes of the Welsh monthly meeting, 8mo. 
1693, "tax levied of one shilling per hundred towards the 
taking of wolves." 

The following names are on the Chester Co. lists for the 
townships of Haverford and Radnor. The total amounts 
received were: Haverford, £3.14.5, and Radnor, £2.19.8. 
The estates in these townships were appraised lower than 
those of Merion, as may be seen. 

Haverford. Valuation. Haverford. Valuation. 

John Bevan £50 Lewis David 30 

William Howell 40 John Lewis 40 

Morris Llewellyn 40 Henry Lewis 50 

Thomas Reese 30 John Lewis, Jr 30 

William Lewis 48 Richard Hayes 43 

John Richard 30 Benjamin Humphrey 32 

Humphrey Ellis 30 William Howell, for 

Ellis Ellis 33 Thomas Owen 72 

Ralph Lewis 30 Richard Hayes, for 

William Jenken 45 David Lewis 72 

Daniel Humphrey 40 Johh Bevan, for 

David Lawrence 36 Evan William 72 

Radnor. 

John Evans £45 Philip Evan 43 

David Meredith 70 David Evan 41 

John Evans 30 William Davis 31 

John Jarman 44 Samuel Miles 33 

John Morgan 32 Richard Miles 34 

[258] 



PLANTERS AND SERVANTS 

William David 31 Evan Prothero 43 

Richard Armes 52 John Richard 33 

Matthew Joanes 30 Stephen Bevan 45 

Howell James 44 Thomas Johns 32 

Following the custom long established in Virginia, Penn 
granted fifty acres for each indentured servant brought into 
his Providence. In Virginia, this head-right, as it was called 
there, belonged to the person importing the servant. In 
fact, the importer, or master, received in Virginia lands, 
fifty acres not only for each of his servants, but the same 
amount for each member of his family, or particular party, 
whose passage he paid. While Penn not only granted (or 
intended to do so), fifty acres to the servant himself, and 
gave him a deed, and warrant of survey for the same, at 
the expiration of his term of servitude, or when his master 
freed him, but fifty acres to the master for each servant 
brought. This was a better arrangement, because in Vir- 
ginia it was notorious that the same servants and other 
head-rights, were used over and over, often with the same 
names, to procure lands, hence some of the great tracts of 
tide-water land in Virginia, held by Colonial worthies. 

In neither Virginia or Pensylvania were all of the "ser- 
vants" of the lowest social class; nor were these, men and 
women, all servants as we now understand the term. In 
either colony, many of these servants were relatives of their 
"masters," even were their children, and frequently were 
at "home," and here, of equal social standing to their mas- 
ters. Many reasons can be assigned to account for their 
servitude, or indenture, and many whose earliest record in 
America is that of "servant," in a short time became prom- 
inent for good in social, religious, or civil life. 

According to the Minutes of the Board of Property, 26. 
9mo. 1701, it was the intention of William Penn to set aside 
a township of 6,000 acres, to be used only as "head-land" for 
servants brought into his Province, in the years 1682-3, 

[259] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

where they could settle when their "time" expired ; but this 
idea was probably abandoned, because it was found the ser- 
vants nearly always conveyed away for a small considera- 
tion their rights to land. 

For instance, Philip Howel purchased their head-lands 
from the following servants, they uniting in a deed for the 
same to him, dated 18. 2mo. 1702 : — 

"Humphrey Edwards, servant to John ap Edwards. 

"Inemry ( ?) Osborn, servant to Griffith Jones.* 

"Elizabeth Osborn, his wife (born Day), servant to same. 

"Jacob Willis, servant to William Cloud. 

"Evan Williams, servant to Thomas Ellis.t 

"Margaret Williams, his wife (born Richard), servant 
to John Bevan. 

"Edmund MacVeagh, servant to Thomas Holme . 

"Alice MacVeagh, his wife, (born Dickinson), servant to 
James Harrison." 

Robert Turner's servants, like himself, were from Dublin, 
and all named Furness: — John, Henry, Joseph, Daniel, 
Mary, Sarah, and Rachel. John Furness was Mr. Turner's 
barber, and in 8mo. 1683, was granted by the Commissioners 
350 acres, on account of himself, and the other servants 
of his surname. 

Reuben Ford, servant to John Gibbons, received head- 
land on his own account, by warrant of 8. 9. 1703. 



* Griffith Jones was one of the prominent Welsh Quakers of the 
Province. In 1703, he was chosen as Mayor of Philadelphia, but 
for some reason he declined to serve, and, as was the custom then, 
he was fined £20, but did not pay. On 3 Oct. 1704, he was again 
chosen for the mayoralty, and would have again declined, but being 
threatened with a like fine, or a total of £40, he accepted the office, 
and it was such an honour to have him as the Mayor, the first fine 
was remitted. David Lloyd, another Welsh Quaker, was the Recorder 
of the city at this time. 

"I Thomas Ellis came from a hamiet, near Dolgules, in Merioneth- 
shire, the name of which was variously written Dolserre, Dolserey, 
Dolyseerey, Dolyserry, Doleyseere, Dolyserre, Doleyserre, etc. 

[260] 



PLANTERS AND SERVANTS 

The following were servants to the prominent families of 
Merion, the first settlers: — 

Edmund Griffith, and Katharine Griffith, "formerly wife 
to Edmund Griffith," were servants of Hugh Roberts. 

John Hugh was servant to Rees John William. 

Hugh Samuel was servant to Thomas Ellis. 

Mary Hughes was servant to John ap Edward. 

John Roberts and William Roberts were servants to Rob- 
ert David. 

William David was servant to John Bevan. 

James Pugh was servant to Steven Bevan. 

Thomas Rees was servant to Evan Thomas. 

Susanna Griffith was servant to John Richards. \ 

Thomas Armes, John Ball (had four years to serve), Rob- \ 
ert Lort (had eight years to serve) , Jean, Bridget and Eliz- 
abeth Watts, and Alexander Edwards (who each had three 1 
years to serve), were servants to Griffith Owen, in 1684. / 

These were servants to Katharine, relict of John ap 
Thomas, in Merion, Elizabeth Owen, Thomas David, and - 
Ann David. i 

Frequently servants were given certificates of good char- 
acter by the Friends' Meetings they belonged to in the old 
country. There are a number of these preserved on the boo'ks 
of the Haverford, now Radnor, Monthly Meeting, as John 
ap Evan and family, and Ralph Lewis, from Treverig 
Meeting, dated 10. 7mo. 1683, and John Richard, and Wil- 
liam Sharpless, from the same Meeting, of whom the Cer- 
tificate describe them "of small abilitie," and "harmless 
men"; but "ready to hear and Receive the Truth." And 
that they were "low in the Outward, yett lived Comfortable 
enough." John Lloyd, a servant to Mr. Bevan, was also thus 
described. 

Servants who claimed to have served their "time," re- 
quire a strong certificate of the fact before being released. 
For instance, in the case of Humphrey Edwards, mentioned 
above; on 9. 4mo. 1702, Edward Jones, William Jenkins, 
and Philip Howel, declared before the Commissioners, that 

[261] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Humphrey, "now of Gwynedd, came into this Province 
about the year 1683, as a servant to John ap Edward, and 
served his time to him faithfully, and according to Inden- 
ture." This occurred on his request for fifty acres of head- 
land. 

Thomas Jones also had a servant named Ellis Roberts, 
who according to the minutes of the Merion Preparative 
Meeting, 6mo. 6. 1703, was made free, having according to 
his certificate, which was read to the meeting, as was 
usual, served Mr. Jones's mother, brother, and himself 
twelve years. 

The certificate of Robert Goodwin, who had been a ser- 
vant for four years to Evan Harry, was also read in Mer- 
ion meeting, on 2. Imo. 1704-5, and, on 4. 6mo. 1704, that 
of Hugh Humphreys from his master, Benjamin Humphreys, 
and that of John Roberts from his master, Robert Jones. 

A letter from Thomas Jones, of Merion tp., to his cousin, 
Robert Vaughan, in Wales, tells of Owen Roberts' (son of 
the Friends' minister, Hugh Roberts), adventures at sea, 
coming to Pensylvania, and that his company was captured 
by the French near the mouth of the Delaware, and carried 
as prisoners to the West Indies. Nine of the servants he was 
bringing were "pressed on board a ship" ; "Morris Richard, 
the Tailor, died at sea" ; but the others finally reached Phil- 
adelphia. Among the latter were Humphrey Williams, 
Thomas Owen, Gadder John, Robert Arthur, Hugh Grifl!ith, 
Edward Thomas and James Grifiith. Thomas Owen died 
after reaching here. Owen Roberts returned to Antigua, to 
try and recover his impressed men, but could not find them. 

These were some of the servants who came over in the 
ship Vine, in Sept. 1684, besides Griffith Owen's servants : — 
Edward Edwards, a boy, Lowry Edwards, Margaret Ed- 
wards, Ann Owen, Hannah Watts and Charles Hughes. It 
appears from the monthly meeting minutes, 11. 2mo. 1695, 
that Charles Hughs "married out," and that because David 
Potts, Owen Thomas, and Evan Harry were at the wedding, 
"which marriage friends had no unity with," "they were 

[262] 



PLANTERS AND SERVANTS 

dealt with by Robert Owen and Edward Jones, and there- 
upon gave forth the following paper of condemnation, viz. 
For as much as we whose names are hereunto written, for 
want of due consideration have unadvisedly been at the dis- 
honorable marriage of Charles Hughes, and by so doing have 
transgressed against this good order as established among 
friends of Truth," &c., hereby acknowledging publicly be- 
fore the meeting the mistake they made. But in 1722, 5mo. 
the Radnor Mo, Mtg. was not so certain of its stand as to 
"dishonorable marriages," as it instructed its representa- 
tives to the quarterly meeting "to report that the monthly 
meeting was concerned whether it was necessary to disown 
such persons as go to the priest to marry, or only advise 
them." 

The Gwynedd meeting was formed by sanction of the 
Radnor Mo. Mtg. at the desire of Friends there, and they 
were "to meet second weekly Third day of every month" 
beginning in 2mo. 1699. But they were not authorized till 
in 6mo. 1702, "to keep a preparative meeting among them- 
selves." 

Recorded at the Radnor Monthly Meeting is the undated, 
unsigned, certificate, from some Meeting in Wales, un- 
named, of "Treharn David, who hath gone now 13 or 14 
months since for Pensylvania with Janne his wife, being 
noe more in family but they both." "Treharne lived with 
our friend John Bevan for many years," in Wales. 

William Morgan, and his wife Elizabeth, who came over 
in the "Morning Star," 20. 9mo. 1683, had been "servants," 
but in the passenger list they were described "both free," 
having served their "time." 

From the burial records of the Merion Meeting come the 
following particulars about other servants, white and black, 
of early times, who should not be passed by, for they, like 
their masters, had a part in the opening and settling of this 
new country. 

1714. 8. 9. "David Lewis, servant of Morris Llwellyn." 

1714. 10. 8. "Morgan Thomas, servant to Robert Evans" 

[263] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

1714-5, 11. 16. "Eobert Vincent, servant to Jon Jones." 
1714-5. 12. 27. "Bumbo, a young negro." 

1716. 4. 5. "Catharine Griffith, servant to Evan Harry." 

1717. 10. 30. "George Eves, burnt at Edward Jones'." 

1718. 10. 14. "Rowland Ellis' tenant," ( ? Thomas Owen) . 

1719. 7. 14. Thos. Evans, "living at David Mirick's place." 

1719. 10. 27. "Ship, Henry Pugh's Negro." 

1720. 1. 5. "William Worm, servant to Hugh Evans" 
This Hugh Evans had considerable trouble when he pro- 
posed to marry the lady of his choice, according to a minute 
of the Radnor Mo. Mtg. He desired to marry Lowrey Lloyd, 
the daughter of Rees John William, of Merion, and widow 
of Robert Lloyd, of Merion, who died in 1714, but the 
union was objected to by friends on the ground "of too near 
affinity," "she being Hugh's deceased wife's mother's sis- 
ter's daughter." Hugh held that Lowrey was of no kin at 
all to him, but the monthly meeting thought otherwise, so 
the matter was referred to the quarterly meeting, which 
allowed the marriage to take place, and the wedding was 
at the Merion meeting house, on 13, 12mo. 1716-7. 

1720-1. 11. 26. "A young Negro of Edward Reese." 
1720-1. 12. 17. "old Bassel, negro to Edward Reese." 
1726-7. 1. 13. "Black Hannah." 

1745. 6. 2. "A child of Edward Williams' maid." 

1746. 9. 2. "Will, a Negro of Edward Price." 

1748. 8. 29. "Black Peter." 

1749. lOmo. "Old Caesar, Reese Reese's negro." 

1749. 6. 28. "A Dutch .from Evan Jones place." 

1752. 10. 10. "A Dutch woman from Evan Jones' place." 
1754. 11. 20. "A dutchman from Anthony Tunis's." 
1754. 10. 22. "Dutch girl from Philip Creakbeam's." 
1756. 4. 13. "A Dutch Woman from William Stadle- 
man's. Supposed to be Poisoned by a Dutchman, from Lan- 
caster, who was Tryed & Convicted, but Reprieved" 

The Welsh monthly meeting several times issued instruc- 
tions to the preparative meetings, that as the matter of 
discharging servants, whose time had expired, was an im- 

[264] 



PLANTERS AND SERVANTS 

portant one, masters were commanded to give the new 
freemen certificates as to conduct, &c., as a protection to 
the community (hence, possibly, our servant's "refer- 
ences"). It also ordered, none should encourage servants 
to buy their time, by lending them money to do so, or going 
bond for them without master's consent. 

In an advertisement in the A7)ierican Weekly Mercury, 
Philadelphia, 26 May, 1720, "Samuel Lewis, of Harford in 
the county of Chester," offers thirty shillings reward for 
the return to him of his runaway servant, Thomas Roberts, 
aged about thirty years. The description of the clothes 
of this servant may give some idea of how his "betters" 
dressed. "He wore a duroy coat lined with silk, a leath- 
ern jacket and breeches." 

It is singular but never in all the wills of the ancient 
Welsh Friends, which frequently mentioned purchased Ne- 
groes, and bequeathed them as chattel, have I found an 
instance of a devisor liberating his slaves. It was the cus- 
tom of the day to own "blacks," and Penn himself then was 
only interested in "regulating Negroes in their Morals and 
Marriages," and in "the regulations of their trials and pun- 
ishments." His whole interest in the negro was, that "he 
should receive proper treatment while in bondage." In 1688, 
the German Friends were the first to protest to the Yearly 
Meeting against slavery of Negroes, but for fifty years, the 
Yearly Meeting went no further in the matter than to ad- 
vise against buying newly imported Negroes, although Ralph 
Sandiford, a Philadelphia Friend, worked hard in 1730-40, 
with pamphlets and addresses to suppress slavery alto- 
gether in Pensylvania. 

Of the second and much smaller "Welsh Tract" much has 
been printed, but there never seemed to be the same interest 
in it for the Land Commissioners, which they had in the first 
and greater, and, in fact, they had no particular reason to 
watch it, for its settlers made no singular claims, nor were 
many of its men remarkable in provincial affairs. 

[265] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Of these "Gwynedd Welsh," it is said they "in general 
did not at first profess with the Quakers, [being "Bap- 
tists"], but afterv/ards they, with "many others" as the 
neighborhood increased, joined the religious society with 
them, and were an industrious, worthy people." One of the 
longest to be remembered was Ann Roberts, who died 4 
June, 1750, aged 73 years, having been a minister among 
Friends for fifty years. 

The nucleus of this second Welsh Tract was a large tract 
of land in the upper part of old Philadelphia county, owned 
by Robert Turner, and purchased by people from North 
Wales, and afterwards was generally known as "North 
Wales," and the "Gwynedd Settlement." This emigration 
Mr. Jenkins* places in 1698, and ascribes it to the influ- 
ence of Hugh Roberts, the minister, who was in Wales the 
previous year; but why Hugh did not secure these settlers 
for the greater Welsh Tract, in which he was certainly 
more interested, rather than for Gwynedd tp., where he 
owned no land, is not apparent. 

On 22 March, 1681, Penn granted by patent of this date, 
5,000 acres of Pensylvania land to Robert Turner, t who, 

*"Gwynedd" by Howard M. Jenkins (1884). P. 22. 

t Mr. Tur'ner, who became an important official in Philadelphia, 
had been frequently roughly handled for being a Quaker. In 1657, 
"being- at Meeting in Londonderry, he was haled out and dragged 
along the streets by his Armes and Leggs, the Mayor of the City help- 
ing with his ow'ne hands, and so turned him out of the City. And 
about two or three Dais after haled him again in like manner as 
before, and tied him upon a bare Horse Back with a Hair Rope, and 
so far their Sport, and Mocking led him at their Pleasure." But Mr. 
Turner's experience was not singular in Ireland, for there are hun- 
dreds of similar "sufferings" of Friends mentioned in the works of 
Fuller and Holme, (1671) ; "Sufferings of the People Call'd Quakers," 
(Dublin, 1731) ; Stockdale's "The Great Cry of Oppression," (1683) ; 
Wight, (1700), in his "History of the People Called Quakers," Dub- 
lin, 1751, and Myers's "Immigration of Irish Quakers into Pensylva- 
nia." 

A score of Mr. Turner's deeds for lands to the Welsh at Gwynedd 
may be seen in Exemplification Book, No. 7, pp. 381, &c. Recorder's 
office, Philadelphia. 

[266] 



PLANTERS AND SERVANTS 

with Robert Zane, and other Dublin Friends, six years 
before this, had been a grantee for tracts of West Jersey 
land, purchased from Friend Byllings, and had started the 
settlement of English speaking people in that country, which 
furnished William Penn with the idea for another such 
scheme for himself. Mr. Turner increased his holdings as 
follows : — 

By deed, 8 Sep. 1685, he bought 2,500 acres which Penn 
had sold to John Gee, of King's Co., Ireland, and, 29. 7. 
1685, 1,250 acres from Joseph Fuller, of King's Co., and 8 
March, 1695, 1,250 acres from Jacob Fuller, of King's Co., 
making Turner's holding in Pensylvania 10,000 acres. Of 
this Penn confirmed to him 7,800 acres, laid out in Philadel- 
phia County. By deed, 10. Imo. 1698-9, Turner sold this tract 
to two Welshmen, William ap John and Thomas ap Evan, of 
Philadelphia, and they, by several deeds in 1699, sold this 
land to the following parties, who, on 25. llmo. 1702, hav- 
ing had their parcels of land resurveyed, according to the 
order, to find "overplusage" for Penn, rendered the follow- 
ing statement, showing their correct acreage : — 

Acres. Over. Acres. Over. 

Ellis, or Da'd Pugh. 220 231 Edward Pugh.* ... . 100 

Evan Hugh 100 110 Cadwall'dr ap Evan. 500 609 

John Hugh 500 648 Owen ap Evan 400 538 

John Humphrey .... 450 561 Rob't ap Hugh .... 200 232 

Rob't ap Evan 5,005 1,034 William John 1,900 2,866 

Edward Faulk 400 712 Thomas Evan 700 1,049 

Robert Jones 500 720 William John 150 322 

Robert Evan 200 250 Evan Robert 100 110 

Evan ap Hugh.* ... 400 1,068 Hugh Griffith 200 376 

David Pugh.* 200 

♦"(Brothers, Evan holds all, other two dead.)" 

It may be seen that the overplus on these 7,800 acres 
was 11,436 acres. No wonder that Penn had new surveys 
made of old grants. However, he allowed these unfortu- 
nates to purchase in all 2,846 acres of the "overs," and, in 
llmo. 1702, these Welsh grantees, and their heirs, and those 
who had bought of them, obligated themselves to pay Penn 

[267] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

the amounts as below. This table also shows the amounts 
owing, or "continued," after a cash payment : — 

Obligation. Continued. 
Rob't John, Wm. John, Edw'd Faulk. £535.10. 8 £269. 5. 4 
Tho. Evan, Cadw. ap Evan, Rob't ap 

Hugh 140.18.11 80. 7. 5 

Owen ap Evan, Robert Evan 216. 5. 3 104. 2. 7 

Robert Evan, Evan ap Hugh 134.12. 6 67. 8. 3 

Jno. Humphrey, Jno. Hugh 75.00. 3 37.10. 2 

Hugh Griffith & Son 22.17. 9 11. 8.10 

Robert John 3.00. 

Owen ap Evan 5. 

William John, (Pd by Ja. Logan) .... 15. 

Thomas Evan, (Pd by Ja. Logan) 10. 

Robert Evan 10. 

John Hugh 15. 

Edward Faulk 10. 

Evan Pugh 5. 

In the latter end of the year 1698, the purchasers of these 
l.inds began removing to "North Wales." Among the early 
arrivals were Thomas, Robert, and Owen Evans, William 
Jones, Cadwalader Evans, 1664-1745, (an ancestor of Mr. 
Lewis Jones Levick, of Bala, as elsewhere), Hugh Griffith, 
John Hugh, &c., as in these lists. Some of these gentlemen 
subsequently purchased considerable land in the first, or 
great Welsh Tract, and removed there, having become Quak- 
ers, and intermarried with the Welsh pioneer families there, 
afc may be seen in the following chart. 



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WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Notes to the aforesaid chart. 

(l)_Some account of Henry Lewis, and his Welsh 
Tract land, has been given. He came with his wife Marga- 
ret, from Narbeth, Pembrokeshire, in 1682. In 1684, when 
still a member of the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, he was 
of a committee appointed "to visit the poor and the sick, and 
administer what they should judge convenient, at the ex- 
pense of the meeting." Besides being the foreman of the 
first Grand Jury of Philadelphia County, he was one of the 
three "peace makers," he being the representative from the 
Welsh Tract, appointed by the county court, an office created 
by act of assembly, at the second session. Their duty was 
to determine matters in litigation, and subject to appeal to 
Court; they were to prevent law suits if possible, and dis- 
courage litigation, and "to hear and end differences betwixt 
man and man." It has been said he was the beloved and 
trusted friend of William Penn. His daughter, Elizabeth, 
b. at Narbeth, 14. 12mo. 1677, married in 1697 Richard 
Hayes, Jr., who removed from Ilminston, Pembrokeshire, to 
Haverford, in 1687, with his parents. His mother, Isatt 
Hayes, is frequently mentioned in Haverford Monthly 
Meeting minutes as active in work among the Haverford 
Friends. Richard Hayes, Jr., was a justice of the court 
in Chester Co., and member of the Pensylvania Assembly 
for many years. His wife d. 25. 3mo. 1Y42, and the Phila- 
delphia Quarterly Meeting has recorded the testimony re- 
specting her: — "She was a faithful Elder among us for 
several years, a good example to the flock." 

(2) — David Jones removed from Wales with his wife 
Katherine and two children, about 1700, and bought 350 
acres of land, located in Blockley tp., at Haverford road and 
63d street. His sister, Ellen Jones, m. Robert Jones, of 
Merion, a son of John ap Thomas, the associate of Dr. 
Jones. He was a prominent Friend in both countries. The 
Friends' minister, William Edmundson, in his Journal 
(printed), mentions him. He brought his certificate from 

[270] 



PLANTERS AND SERVANTS 

the Monthly Meeting at Hendri Mawr, dated 24. 12mo. 
1699-00, signed by Robert Vaughan, Cadwalader Ellis, Evan 
Rees, Edward Ellis, Thomas Richards, Edward David, Owen 
Lewis, Ellis Lewis, Rowland Owen, Thomas Cadwalader, 
and John Robert. He also had a certificate from the men's 
meeting in Haverford West, dated 4. Imo. 1699-00, and 
among the signers were Andrew Llewellyn, James Lewis, 
Peregrine Musgrave, Evan Bowen and John Roger. The 
records of the Haverford Monthly Meeting say of him, "he 
was one of the first appointed an Elder in the Haverford 
Meeting." He d. 27. 6mo. 1725, and was buried at the Mer- 
ion Meeting House. His wife was also an active member 
of this meeting, being "an inspector of conversation," and a 
"visitor," and represented Haverford in the Quarterly Meet- 
ing. After her husband's death, she had a certificate from 
the Radnor Monthly Meeting to the Philadelphia Monthly 
Meeting, and d. 23. 5mo. 1764. Their Bible, "printed yn 
Llundian," 1678, records the births of James Lewis, on 8th 
mo. 10th, 1638, and "Katerin Lewis, ye 25th of 12th month 
1640," who may have been the parents of David's wife, 
Katherine, who had a brother James Lewis, of Llanddewy, 
whose letters to her are extant. Their son James Jones, b. 
31. 5mo. 1699,' d. in Blockley tp. 27. 3mo. 1791, aged 92 years. 
He m. Hannah Hayes, at Haverford Meeting, 10. 8mo. 1727, 
and had Isaac Jones, who m. at Burlington (N. J.) Meeting 
26. llmo. 1778. 

(3) — Cadwalader ap Evan, mentioned elsewhere, 
came from Fron Goch, Merionethshire, and died in the 
Gwynedd settlement, in 1745, age 81 years. He married 
in Wales, Ellen, daughter of John Morris, of Bryn Gwyn, 
and their daughter, Sarah Evans, married John Hank, of 
White Marsh, and had issue as mentioned before. 

(4, 5, 9) — The ancestry of Robert ap Cadwalader is un- 
known. He was one of the early settlers of Gwynedd, 
and his son, John Roberts, who married Ehzabeth, daughter 
of the Merion settler, (5) John ap Edward, of whom 

[271] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

elsewhere, was the founder of the Roberts family of "Wood- 
lawn" plantation, Whitpain tp., Montgomery Co., Pa., where 
seven successive generations of Roberts blood have resided. 
On this property is another stone mansion, erected in 1715, 
acccording to the date-stone, called "Woodlawh Farm," 
which was the home of (9) Job Roberts, who was knovm 
as "the Pensylvania farmer," and was the pioneer of scien- 
tific farming, on which subject he published a book in 1804. 
He was a magistrate for twenty-nine years. This family 
was also remarkable for longevity, as Job Roberts died aged 
96 years, his father, John Jr., died at 90 years, and his 
grandfather, John Roberts, at 96 years. 

(6) — Evan Morris was an early settler in the Gwy- 
nedd district, and a prominent Friend. He and his wife, 
Gainor, brought certificates, dated 8. 5mo. 1690, from the 
Quarterly Meeting at Tyddyn y Garreg, Merioneth, filed 
with the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. His son, Morris 
Morris, gave the land on which the Richland meeting house 
was built, and also endowed the Friends' school there, which 
many of his descendants attended. His wife, Susanna Heth, 
or Heath, was "an eminent minister in the Society of 
Friends." 

(7) — Elizabeth Wetherill Jones, (wife of Ebenezer 
Levick, and mother of the Friends' minister, Samuel 
J. Levick), whose interesting "Recollections of Her Early 
Days," in Philadelphia, were printed in book-form, in 1881, 
was born at No. 17 Pine Street, Philadelphia, her parents' 
home, on 5. 6mo. 1789. She was the youngest child of Isaac 
Jones, and his wife, Mary Wetherill, (who is buried at the 
Merion Meeting House), married at the Burlington Meet- 
ing, 26. llmo. 1778, and died at the home of her son, Dr. 
James Jones Levick, at 12th and Arch streets, Philadelphia, 
21. llmo. 1886, aged over 97 years and six months, and was 
buried in Friends' Southwestern Ground, Philadelphia. Dr. 

[272] 



PLANTERS AND SERVANTS 

Levick mentioned, was noted for his interest in the Welsh 
settlement of Pensylvania, and published many valuable 
articles about the settlers of "Merion in the Welsh Tract." 
He d. 25. 6mo. 1893, aged 69 years. She also had a son, Wil- 
liam Manlove Levick, of Philadelphia, a lawyer. 

(8) — Samuel Jones Levick, of Philadelphia, whose 
Life was written and published, in 1895, by Hugh Foulke, of 
Philadelphia, was the son of Ebenezer Levick, a Philadel- 
phia merchant, and Elizabeth Wetherill Jones, married at 
the Pine Street Friends' Meeting, Philadelphia, 1. 5mo. 
1816, and was born 30. 8mo. 1819. He was educated at the 
Friends' Westtown Boarding School, in Chester Co., and 
according to the memorial of him, prepared for the Phila- 
delphia Monthly Meeting, and approved by the Quarterly 
Meeting, 2. 5mo. 1889, "he became a public ambassador for 
Christ in his twenty-first year, continuing in the work of 
the ministry for over forty-five years. His gift therein was 
acknowledged by the Richland Monthly Meeting in Fourth 
month, 1842, and confirmed by Abington Quarterly Meeting 
of ministers and elders, in Fifth month of the same year." 

The memorial tells that Mr. Levick travelled much in the 
work of the Friends' ministry in all parts of the Union, and 
that "he was a man of strong and earnest convictions, and 
very plain and outspoken in the expressison of his views." 
"He was deeply interested in public affairs, both national 
and local, active in the work of organized charities in our 
city." At the time of his decease, he was the secretary of 
the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In 
early life, Mr. Levick became an active worker for the aboli- 
tion of slavery, and was a member of the Junior Anti-Slav- 
ery Society. He was also a member of the "Peace Society" 
of Philadelphia, which, in January, 1839, took up the matter 
of forming a "Congress of Nations," in which such matters 
that led to war between nations could be peacefully adjusted, 

[273] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

which is a prominent proposition of the present day. Mr. 
Levick died at his home in West Philadelphia on 19. 4mo. 
1885, and was buried at the Merion meeting house, as he 
desired, when "testimonies were borne by several Friends 
in the ministry from different meetings," of both branches 
of the Society of Friends. He was twice married, first to 
Ellen, daughter of Caleb Foulke, at the Richland Friends' 
Meeting, on 3. 4mo. 1841 ; she died in 1842, and he married 
secondly, on 17. lOmo. 1844, Susanna Morris Mather, who 
died 9. 4mo. 1904, and was buried at the Merion meeting 
house. Mr. Levick had by his first wife an only child 

Jane Foulke Levick, who m, first, Edwin A. Jackson, issue 
died young. She m. secondly, in Philadelphia, 17 Oct. 1910, 
William W. J. Cooke. 

Mr. Levick by his second wife, Susanna Mather, who was 
the granddaughter of Isaac Mather (and Mary Morris), son 
of Richard (and Sarah Penrose), son of Joseph Mather and 
his wife, Elizabeth, only child of John Russell, who pur- 
chased several hundred acres of land from Penn, in 1683, in 
Cheltenham tp., much of which still remains with Mather 
descendants, had, — 

1 — Lewis Jones Levick, of Bala, and Philadelphia, to. 
Mary d'Invilliers, of Philadelphia, and had, — 

I. Henry Lewis Levick, of Bala. 

II. Mary Sabina Levick, to. Winthrop C. Neilson, of 
Philadelphia, and had Lewis Winthrop. 

III. Louise Jamart, wife of George B. Atlee. 

IV. Suzanne Levick, of Bala. 

2 — Charles Mather Levick, deceased. He to. Henrietta 
Wilson, his brother's widow. No issue. 

3 — Samuel Jones Levick, Jr., deceased. He m. Anna E. 
Bullock, and had, — 

I. Anna Lucile Levick, m. Dr. Deemer. 

II. Florence Levick, to. Joseph Sullivant. 

III. Elizabeth Wetherill Levick, to. William Hicks. 

[274] 



PLANTERS AND SERVANTS 

4 — William Ebenezer Levick, deceased. He m. Henrietta 
Wilson. No issue. 

5 — James Jones Levick, Jr., unmarried. 

On an abandoned road, near Norristown, which was a 
short cut between the two Welsh settlements, was the little 
smithy of Ellis Robert, patronized by people we have heard 
of, as may be learned from his extant "Day Book," in which 
it is written that he bought it of Thomas Pugh, a Welshman, 
and a Philadelphia bookseller, on 21. 6mo. 1703. The black- 
smith's first entry in it was on "ye 13th of ye 3rd month, 
1708," when he records, "Cadwalader Morgan, dr. 1 day's 
harvest work, 3s. 6d." And "26th day of ye 4th month, 
1703, Ellis David of Goshen, 1 day's work, 1 shilling." In 
5th month, next, "For soying with Griffith Jones 12 hun- 
dred of Oak & Poplar, £1. 15s. 6d." "ye 18th day of ye 3 
month, 1703, Cadwalader Jones dr. for 2 days' work, 3s. 
4d." His account book runs into the year 1705, and he had 
customers of many kinds, and from various places, but prin- 
cipally North Wales inhabitants, and for these he repaired 
plows, sharpened hoes, mended implements, and harness, 
besides did some horse shoeing. Among his customers in 
these years were, Richard Pugh, Edward Jarman, John Wil- 
liamson, Thomas CraiTot, Samuel Brockes, Jacob Cofing, 
Hernell Cassel, John Good, Morris Roberts, the widow 
Clancy, John Michinar, Richard Blackham, Matthew Jones, 
David Hughes, John Meredith, Evan Griffith, William 
Thomas, John Welles, William Robert Ellis, Thomas Griffith, 
Rowland Richard, John Morgan, Thomas David, of Valley, 
John Evans, John Roberts, David Howel, Thomas Louis, 
John David Thomas, David Harvey Rees, William Thomas 
Hugh, Robert Williamson, of Goshen, Edward Watgin, John 
Davis, of ye Gulfe, and John Cadwalader, who 'paid for the 
bell, 4s. 3d. Three pounds remain unpaid." John Cadwal- 
ader, who died in Oct. 1742, in the island of Tortola, W. L, 
where Thomas Chalkley died 4 Nov. 1741, was in debt to 

[275] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

another man, in the following item. The long will, all in 
Welsh, of Cadwalader David ap Hugh, of Gwynedd, dated 23 
Nov. 1700, gives to Hugh ap Edward £18, and appoints 
brother Evan ap Hugh, and Edward Foulke to be guar- 
dians, and overseers. He had considerable money loaned 
out at interest, although he was a "workingman." Among 
his borrowers were John Cadwalader, Hugh William, David 
Evan, of Radnor, Hugh ap William, Edward Griffith, Rob- 
ert Hugh, and Robert John, for whom he was working when 
the will was made. 



[276] 



NOBLE AND GENTLE 
WELSH FAMILIES 



SOME WELSH FRIENDS' PEDIGREES 

It has already been remarked that the leading men of the 
Welsh barony were well educated gentlemen, or yeoman, 
men of good standing, affairs, and estates, in the neighbor- 
hoods whence they came to America, before 1700. Further, 
some of these were remarkable as to their pedigrees; a 
matter always carefully looked after and transmitted by 
Welsh gentlemen, as well as by people of refinement of other 
nationalities. 

Under their ancient local laws, the Welsh in the old coun- 
try, had good reason for keeping their pedigrees up-to-date. 
This was because fines and penalties could be levied on the 
distant relatives of guilty persons, if they were unable to 
pay. For instance, the "murder fine," (galnas), varied 
according to the status of the victim, and the murderer's kin 
to the fifth generation of his blood was liable for the pay- 
ment of the fine. But in case of a mere "insult fine," (sar- 
had) , the offender's blood kindred was bound only to the 
third generation, or third cousins. Then, again, the Welsh 
were divided into two distinct classes, based upon "pedi- 
gree." There were the bonheddig, those having a pedigree, 
men with a lineage (nobilis) of the best strain, — pure 
Cymro on both sides, paternal and maternal, entirely free 
from bondsman's blood, and even of that of a foreigner, or 
alltud. Of such were the gentlemen of Wales. In the 
"lower class," was the taeog, the villain or the serf; the 
farm-hand and the yeoman, a freeholder without the re- 
quisite "pedigree," and these were the most privileged, the 
mah aillt, of the unpedigreed. 

Generally, the pedigrees of Welsh and Irish families are 
as uninteresting as those of biblical characters, being only 
strings of names of successive heirs, or successors, 

[279] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

without dates, places of habitation, or records of actions. 
But these following genealogies of a few of the pro- 
minent early planters of the Welsh Tract depart from 
the ancient method, the usual heir to heir line, and show 
these particular Welshmen and Welshwomen, Quakers all, 
to have been of distinguished lineages, and connected by 
blood with some of the great historic families of England, 
and being educated, refined men and women, moving from 
the homes of their forefathers into the wilds of a new coun- 
tiy, and new experiences, they naturally brought their gene- 
alogies and family histories for the benefit of their descend- 
ants. That these Welsh Quakers did bring their pedigrees 
with them, or in a few years sent home for them, is not 
singular either, because it is a fact that other immigrants in 
other parts of the new country did the same, that is when 
they had any they were proud of, or supposed was worthy 
of transmission. Therefore, these Welsh Friends were 
Penn's peers socially by birth, and were not obscure families 
to whom he had sold his land, under certain promises and 
conditions, which they clearly recalled, but which he pre- 
tended to forget, and certainly ignored, and did not keep. 

Robert Owen, Evan Owen, Owen Owen, Jane Owen, wife 
of Hugh Roberts, and John Cadwalader, identified with 
"Merion in the Welsh Tract," it appears were lineally de- 
scended from the royal houses of France, England, and 
Wales, in the following lines, as may be seen in Dwnn's 
Welsh pedigrees, or "Visitations," and Dugdale's "Baronage 
of England." 

1. — HOWEL-DDA, King of all Wales, A. D. 948, had by his 
wife. Lady Jane, daughter of the Earl of Cornwall, 

2. — Owen, Prince of South Wales, who had by his wife. 
Lady Angharad, daughter of Llewellyn ap Mervyn, Prince 
of Powys, 

3. — Prince Einion, eldest son, who 7n. Lady Nesta, 
daughter of the Earl of Devonshire, and had : 

[280] 



GENEALOGICAL DATA 

4, — TUDOR-MAWR., Prince of South Wales, who had by his 
wife, Lady Gwenlian, 

5. — Rhys. Prince of South Wales, who had by his wife. 
Lady Gwladys, daughter of Rhiwlalon, Prince of Powis, 

6. — Griffith, Prince of South Wales, who had by his 
wife, Lady Gwenlian, daughter of Griffith ap Cynan, Prince 
of North Wales, 

7.— Rhys, "Prince of South Wales," who, as "Lord Rhys," 
was the chief justice of South Wales (see Burke's "Ancestry 
of the Royal House of Tudor"). He had by his wife, Lady 
Gwenlian, daughter of Madoc, feudal lord of Bromfield, 

8. — Rhy-GRYD, feudal lord of Yestradtywy. He m. Lady 
Joan, daughter of Richard de Clare*, fourth Earl of Hert- 
ford, &c., one of the celebrated twenty-five Sureties for the 
Magna Charta, 1215, and had: 

9. — Rhys-mechyllt, feudal lord of Llandovery Castle, 
whose son, 

10. — Rhys-vaughn, was feudal lord of Yestradtywy, 
He m. Lady Gwladys, daughter and heiress of Griffith, 
feudal lord of Cymcydmaen, and had : 

11. — Rhys-gloff, who succeeded to the estate of his ma- 
ternal grandfather. He m. Lady Gvi^rryl, daughter of 
Maelywn ap Cadwalader, and had : 

12. — Madoc, who had, by his wife Tanglwyst, daughter of 
Gronowy ap Einion, 

13. — Trahairn-goch, lord of Llyn, Grainianoc, and Penl- 



*This Richard, Earl of Hertford, was the son of Roger, third 
Earl of Hertford, second son of Richard, de Clare, created Earl of 
Hertford, son of Gilbert de Tonsburg, in Normandy, by his wife, Lady 
Adeliza, daughter of Hugh de Monchi, 2d Count of Clermont, and 
his wife. Lady Marguerite, daughter of Hildwin IV., Count of Mont- 
didier, lord of Rameru, &c., and Count de Rouci, by his wife, Adela, 
Countess de Rouci, daughter and heiress of Eblo I., Count of Rouci and 
Reims, and his wife, Lady Beatrix, daughter of Rainier IV., eleventh 
Count of Hainault, by his wife, Princess Havide, daughter of Hugh 
Capet, King of France, 940-996. 

[281] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

lech, who had by his wife, Lady Gwyrryl, daughter of Ma- 
doc ap Meirig, 

14.— David-goch, lord of Penllech, in 1314. He m. Maud, 
daughter of David Lloyd ap Cyrveloc (see Browning's 
"Americans of Royal Descent," fourth edition, p. 95, for his 
pedigree), and had: 

15.— lEVAN, lord of Grainianoc and Penllech, in 1352. He 
m. Eva, daughter of Einion ap Celynnin, of Llwydiarth, 
Montgomeryshire, a lineal descendant of Bleddyn Cynfyn, 
king of Powis, 1046, and had : 

16. — Madoc, lord of Grainianoc, or Grainoc, whose son, 

17. — Deikws-ddu, had by his wife, Gwen, daughter of 
levan-ddu, a lineal descendant of Maelor-crwm, chieftain 
of the seventh Royal Tribe of Wales, in 1175, 

18. — Einion, lord of Grainoc, who m. Morvydd, daughter 
of Matw ap Llowarch, and had : 

19. — HOWEL, who m. Mali, daughter of Llewellyn ap 
levan, and had : 

20. — Griffith, who m. Gwenlian, daughter of Einion ap 
levan Lloyd, and had : 

21. — Lewis, lord of Yshute, who m. Ethli, or Elian, daugh- 
ter of Edward ap levan, of Llanoddyn, parish Montgomery- 
shire, by his wife, Catharine v. Gryflyth Llewellyn Einion ap 
David, the feudal baron of Cryniarth, in Edermon, also of 
Royal Descent, and had : 

22. — Robert, lord of Rhiwlas, who m. Gwyrryl, daughter 
of LlewellyTi ap David, of Llan Rwst, in Denbighshire, and 
had: 

23. — Evan Robert Lewis, of Vron Goch farm, Merioneth, 
lord of Rhiwlas, by his wife Jane, live sons, Owen, Evan, 
John, Cadwalader, and Griffith. Of these: 

1. — Owen ap Evan, of Vron Goch farm, d. 1669, had by 
his wife, Gainor John, 

[282] 



GENEALOGICAL DATA 

I. — Robert Owen, 1657-1697, who m., 1678, Rebecca 

Humphrey (see below), and removed in 1690 to Marion,, 

as mentioned elsewhere.f 

IL — Jane Owen, who m. Hugh Roberts*, the Friends'" 

minister, and removed to Merion, as already mentioned, 

p. 96, &c. 

III. — Ellen Owen, 1660-169-, who m. Cadwalader 

Thomas Hugh, of Kiltalgarth, Merioneth, and had: 
John Cadwalader, who m. at the Merion Meeting, 
29 Dec, 1699, Martha Jones, see p. 74. 

IV. — Evan Owen, a Welsh Tract land owner. 

V. — Owen Owen, a Welsh Tract land ower. 



fAmong the prominent descendants of Robert and Rebecca Owen 
are: Mrs. Clement Acton Griscom, Mrs. J. C. W. Frishmuth, Mrs. 
Arthur V. Meigs, Mrs. Charles Williams, Mrs. Walter S. Wyatt, Mrs. 
Howard Wood, Alexander Biddle, Abraham L. Smith, Mrs. George M. 
Conarroe, Benj. Hayes Smith, Mrs. Lewis Allair Scott, Mrs. Moncure 
Robinson, Jr., Mrs. Eugene Blackford, Mrs. Arthur E. Poultney, Johte 
Barclay Biddle, Mrs. Andrew A. Blair, Alex. Williams Biddle, Jr.j. 
Charles Meigs Biddle, Arthur Biddle, Mrs. John B. Thayer, Mrs. Wil- 
liam D. Winsor, Mrs. William R. Philler, Mrs. Samuel Bettle, Mrs. 
Clement S. Phillips, Mrs. Daniel F. Shaw, Mrs. James D. Winsor, Alger- 
non S. Roberts, Mrs. Edward Browning, Sr., John Browning Clement,, 
Thomas Allen Glenn, Mrs. Charles C. Royce, Thomas Dunlap, Jr.,. 
Marquise de Potesdad Fornari, Henry Williams Biddle, James Wilmer 
Biddle, Princess d'Aragon, Mrs. de Grasse Fox, Rodman Wister. 

*Their son Roberts Roberts (see p. 102), d. in Calvert Co., Md., 11 
Nov. 1728. He m. secondly, 3 Dec. 1703, Priscilla, b. 21 Mar., 1681, 
d. 16 Apr. 1725, dau. of Richard and Elizabeth (Kensey) Johns, and 
had ten children by her. Of these: — Elizabeth m. Edward Parrish^ 
Jr., see below; Isaac, b. 4 Feb. 1711, m. Hannah Paschall; Patience, 6. 
1 Feb. 1725, in. 1, Samuel Gray, m. 2, Isaac Howell; and 

Richard Roberts, b. 21 Nov. 1706, m. Elizabeth, dau. of Be'njamiis 
and Elizabeth (Tongue) Allen. Of their children: — Richard, b. 10 
Apr. 1735, TO. 29 May, 1770, Mary (Thomas) Hairis (for descendantSs, 
see Mackenzie's "Colonial Families," p. 438) ; Hugh, b. 26 Jan. 1745;, 
TO. Hannah West Moore ; Elizabeth m. Thomas Tongue, and 

Robert Roberts, b. 12 Jan. 1741-2, d. 18 June, 1791; to, 6 Apr. 
1773, Catherine, dau. of David and Mary (Le Fevre) Deshler, and 
had, Elizabeth, 1781-1868, to. 19 May, 1803, James Canby, 1781-1858, 
of Wilmington, Del. Issue. 

[283] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

2.— Evan ap EvANf of Vron Goch farm, Merionethshire, 
who had: 

L— Thomas Evans,! 1651-1738, removed to Gwynedd. 
11. — Robert Evan, removed to Gwynedd, d. in 1738. 
III. — Owen Evans, 1659-1723, removed to Gwynedd. 
IV. — Cadwalader Evans, 1664-1745, removed to Gwy- 
nedd in 1698. He m, Ellin, daughter of John Morris, 
of Bryn Gwyn, Denbighshire, by his wife, Ellin, daugh- 
ter of Ellis Williams, of Caifadog, also of Royal De- 
scent, and had : 
Sarah Evans, who m. at the Gwynedd Meeting, 11, lOmo. 
1711, John Hank, of White Marsh, will dated 12 Dec. 1730, 
proved in May, 1731, and had besides other children : 

1. — John Hank, Jr., 6. 1712, who sold his farm near 
Reading, Pa., in 1787, and removed eventually to Fayette 
Co., Ky., where his daughter, Nancy, m. Thomas Lincoln, 
and settled in Larue Co., Ky., and here was born their only 
child, Abraham Lincoln, twice President of the United 
States. 



Edward and Elizabeth (Roberts) Parrish, aforesaid, had 
John Parrish, who m. Mary, his cousin, dau. of Edward Roberts, 
p. 154 (son of Hugh Roberts, p. 103), and had Mary, m. Stephen Col- 
lins, and had Elizabeth m. Richard Bland Lee (son of Col. Henry Lee, 
and his wife Lucy Grymes, also of Royal Descent, see Browning's 
"Americans of Royal Descent," fourth edition, p. 724, and seventh 
edition, Pedigree CXIII), and had Zaecheus Collins Lee, who m, 
Martha A. Jenkins, and had Richard Henry Lee, only son, m. Isabella 
George Wilson, and had Richard H., J. Collins; Robert E., and Eliza- 
beth Collins Lee, of Baltimore. 

Also descended from Hugh and Jane Roberts are Henry C. Baird, 
Mrs. Louis Starr, and Mrs. Edward T. Canby. 

fAmong his descendants are Allen Childs, Mrs. Levin Hill Jack- 
son, Miss Helen Erben, Jacob Sperry Willing, and John M. Whitall, Jr. 

^Descended from Thomas Evans's son Hugh, and wife Lowry, are 
Mrs. Jawood Lukens, Mrs. Howard Comfort, Mrs. Robert R. Corson, 
Mrs. Geo. Mason Chichester, Mrs. Edgar W. Baird, and Mrs. Charles 
P. Keith. 

[284] 



GENEALOGICAL DATA 

2.— Jane Hank, who m. John Roberts, Jr., of "Wood- 
lawn," Penllyn, and had, JoB ROBERTS, of "Woodlawn," who 
m. Mary Naylor, and had Jane, who m. Charles Mather, of 
"Woodlawn," and had, Susanna Morris, who w. Samuel 
Jones Levick, of Philadelphia, for many years a well-known 
minister among Friends, and had, besides other children, 
Lewis Jones Levick, of Bala, who to. Mary d'Invilliers, of 
Philadelphia and had Henry Lewis ; Mary Sabina, wife of 
Winthrop C. Neilson; Louise Jamart, wife of George B. 
Atlee, and Suzanne. 

The Humphreys family, Rowland Ellis, of "Bryn Mawr" 
farm, and Rebecca Humphreys, wife of Robert Owen, of 
Merion, were descended as follows from the Royal Houses 
of England and France. 

1. — Henry HL, King of England, to. Lady Eleanor, 
daughter of Raymond de Berenger, Count of Provence, and 
had by her: 

2. — Edmund, Earl of Leicester, lord high steward, who 
had by his second wife, Lady Blanche, widow of Henry I., 
of Navarre, and daughter of Robert, Count of Artois, second 
son of Louis Vin, King of France : 

3. — Henry, Earl of Leicester and Lancaster, who m. Lady 
Maud, daughter of Sir Patrick de Chaworth, by his wife, 
Lady Isabel de Beauchamp, daughter of William, first Earl 
of Warwick, also of Royal Descent, and had : 

4. — Lady Eleanor Plantagenet, who to. secondly (his 
second wife), Sir Richard Fitzalan, K. G., Earl of Arundel 
and Surrey, and had: 

5.— Sir Richard Fitzalan, K. G., Earl of Arundel, who 
had by his first wife, Lady Elizabeth de Bohun, daughter of 
William, first Earl of Northampton, K. G., also of Royal 
Descent : 

6. — Lady Elizabeth Fitzalan, who had by her third 
husband. Sir Robert Goushill, Kt., of Hault Hucknell manor, 
Derbyshire : 

[285] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

7. — Lady Joan Goushill, who m. Sir Thomas Stanley, 
K. G., Lord Stanley, lord chamberlain of England, and had : 

8. — Lady Margaret Stanley (her brother, Sir William, 
crowned Henry VII. on Bosworth Field), who had by her 
second husband (see Dugdale's "Baronage," vol. II., p. 248), 
Sir William Troutbeck, lord of Prynes Castle, Cheshire, who 
was slain in the battle of Bloreheath : 

9. — Lady Jane Troutbeck (see Omerod's "Cheshire," 
vol. II., Collins's "Peerage," III., p. 4o3, widow of Sir Wil- 
liam Boteler, who m. Sir William Griffith, lord of Penrhyn 
Castle, Caernarvonshire, chamberlain of North Wales, 
"made a Knight of the Bath on St. Andrew's Eve, 1489, 
at the coronation of Prince Arthur, and of his Bayne," 
and had : 

10. — Sir William Griffith, lord of Penrhyn Castle, 
knighted at Touraine, Christmas, 1513, "after the king came 
from mass, under the banner in the church" ; chamberlain of 
North Wales, 1520. He had by his second wife, m. in 1522, 
Lady Jane, daughter of John Puleston, lord of Caomarvan 
Castle (see Dwnn's "Visitations of Wales," vol. II., 154-59, 
or Pedigree CXLIX) : 

11. — Lady Sibill Griffith, who m. Owen ap Hugh, of 
Bodeon, high sheriff of Anglesea in 1563, and 1580, d. 1613, 
and had: 

12. — Jane Owen, who m. Hugh Gwyn, of Penarth, high 
sheriff of Caernarvonshire, in 1600 (see Dwnn's "Visita- 
tions of Wales," II. 172) , and had : 

13. — Sibill Hugh, who m. before 20 Sep. 1588, John ap 
Howel-goch, of Gadfa, Llanwddyn, Montgomeryshire, who 
was buried in the parish church, 24 July, 1636, and had : 

14. — Elizabeth Powell, who m. Humphrey ap Hugh 
Howel, of Llwyn-du, Llangelynin, in Merionethshire, d. 
1664-5, and had : 

1. — Owen Humphrey, of Llwyn-du, eldest son, 1625- 
1699, a justice in 1678. He had by his wife Jane, 

[286] 



GENEALOGICAL DATA 

Rebecca Humphrey, who m. in 1678, Robert Owen, of 

Vron Goch farm, and removed to Merion in 1690, as 

mentioned above. 

2.— Samuel Humphrey, of Portheven, Merionethshire, 

who bought land in Haverford and removed here in 1683, 

but died in Wales. He m. in 1658, Elizabeth Rees, and had 

eight children,* who settled in Haverford with their mother. 

3. — John Humphrey, who m. his cousin, Jane Humphrey 

(sister to Richard Humphrey, who was a Haverford land 

owner) , and bought land in Haverford, and removed to it. 

4. — Anne Humphrey, who m. Ellis ap Rees Lewis, or 
Ellis Price, of Bryn Mawr, in Merionethshire, 1649, also of 
Royal Descent, as explained in another page, and had : 

Rowland Ellis, 1650-1729, of "Bryn Mawr" farm, in 
the Welsh Tract. His daughter Eleanor, m. in 1715, 
John Evans,t of Gwynedd, also of Royal Descent as 
above. 

5. — Daughter (name not preserved) , m. Owen ap , 

and had the following children who removed to the Welsh 
Tract. 

L — Elizabeth Owen, second wife of "John Roberts, of 
Wayn Mill," Merion, d. 1703-4, who removed from Pen 
y Chyd, or Clwyd, in Denbighshire. 
II. — John Owen, a land owner in Merion in 1683-1703. 
III. — Joshua Owen, a land owner in Merion, unmar- 
ried in 1683-1703. 



*One of his children, Daniel Humphreys, m. Hannah, daughter of 
Dj. Thomas Wynne, and from them descended Joshua Humphreys, a 
celebrated naval constructor, Mrs. Thomas Stewardson, William Penn 
Hiunphreys, &c. 

tAmong their numerous prominent descendants are Mrs. John 
Henry Livingston, Gouveneur Morris Ogden, Mrs. Alfred T. Mahan, 
Glendower Evans, Rowland Evans, Allen Evans, Edmund Cadwalader 
Evans, Hartman Kuhn Evans, Mrs. Charles Mather, Mrs. Franklin 
T. Haines, William Elbert Evans, Mrs. Henry S. Huidekoper, William 
W. Erwin, Manlius Glendower Evans, Cadwalader Evans Ogden, 
David B. Ogden, Cadwalader Evans, &c. 

[287] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

John Bevan, another of the prominent Welsh Tract land 
owners and settlers, also had ancient and distinguished line- 
age; one of his ancestral lines showing his lineal descent 
from kings of England and France, as follows : 

1. — Henry IIL, King op England, had : 

2. — Edmund, Earl of Leicester, who had : 

3. — Henry, Earl of Leicester, who had: 

4. — Lady Eleanor Plantagenet, who m. secondly (as in 
the "Humphrey" Royal Descent, above). Sir Richard Fitz- 
alan, K. G., Earl of Arundel and Surrey, and had : 

5. — John Fitzalan, Lord Maltravers, second son, d. 15 
Dec. 1379. He m. Lady Eleanor Maltravers, d. 20 Jan. 1405, 
granddaughter and sole heir to John, Lord Maltravers, and 
had: 

6. — John Fitzalan, feudal lord of Arundel, heir, but 
d. V. p. His youngest son, brother to the twelfth Earl of 
Arundel, 

7. — Sir Thomas Fitzalan, Knt., m. Lady Katherine, 
daughter of Sir John Dynham, and sister to Sir John, Lord 
Dynham, K. G., and had: 

8. — Lady Eleanor Fitzalan, who m. Sir Thomas 
Browne, treasurer of the household to King Henry VL, and 
had: 

9. — Sir Anthony Browne, standard-bearer to King 
Henry VH., whose daughter, 

10. — Lady Elizabeth Browne, m. Henry Somerset, 
second Earl of Worcester, d. 26 Nov. 1549, and had : 

11. — Lady Eleanor Somerset, who m. Sir Roger Vaug- 
han, Knt., of Porthaml, Talgarth, Glamorganshire, and had : 

12. — Watkin Vaughan, of Porthaml, Talgarth, who m. 
Joan, daughter of Evan ap Gwilim Yohan, of Peytyn Gwyn, 
and had: 

[288] 



GENEALOGICAL DATA 

13.— Sir William Vaughan, of Porthaml, Talgarth, Knt., 
d., 1564, who m. Catharine, daughter of Jenkin ap Havard, 
of Tredomen, and had : 

14. — Catharine Vaughan, who m. David ap Evan, of 
Neath, high sheriff of Glamorganshire, in 156.3, and had : 

15. — Mary David Evan (widow of Edward Tuberville, of 
Sutton), who m. secondly, Thomas Basset, of Miscin, and 
had: 

16. — Catharine Basset, who m. Richard ab Evan, of Col- 
lenna, Glamorganshire, and had : 

17. — Jane Evans, who m. Evan ah .John, of Treverigg, 
Llantrisant parish, Glamorgan, and had : 

18. — -John Bevan (John ab Evan), who removed from 
Treverigg, in 1683, to the Welsh Tract, with his wife, Bar- 
bara Awbrey, and family.* 

Edward Rees, and his sisters, Hannah, wife of Rees John 
William, or Rees .Jones, and .Jane, wife of Cadwalader Mor- 
gan, all of "Merion in the Welsh Tract," were also of dis- 
tinguished ancestry through their father's family, as fol- 
lows : 

1. — John, King of England, had by his second wife, 
Lady Isabella Taillefer, daughter of Ademar, Count of An- 
gouleme. 

2. — Lady Eleanor Plantagenet, who m. secondly, Si- 
mon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and had, 

3. — Lady Eleanor de Montfort, who m. Llewellyn Gryf- 
fyth. Prince of North Wales, and the last sovereign Prince 



*Among- the prominent descendants of .John Bevan are John W. 
Jordan, LL.D., Hon. Samuel W. Pennypacker, Annesley R. Govett, 
Mrs. John Thomas Bell, Charles W. Sparhawk, Mrs. Duncan L. Buzby, 
Mrs. Thomas McKean, Mrs. Arthur Dudley Cross, of San Francisco; 
James Aull, Walter Bevan, Henry Clay Pennypacker, Henry Clay 
Bevan, Aubrey Bevan, Robert Annesley Govett, Isaac R. Pennypacker, 
Francis Jordan, Jr., Walter Jordan, William E. Bevan, and Andrew 
J. Bevan, Francis K. Wainwright, Clement R. Wainwright. 

[289] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

of all Wales, killed on 11 Dec. 1232, son of Llewellyn the 
Great, and had, 

4. — Lady Catherine, heiress, who m. Philip ap Ivor, lord 
of Iscoed, in Cardigan, and had, 

5. — Lady Eleanor, heiress, who m. Thomas ap Llewellyn 
Owen, of Trefgarned, lord of South Wales, and had, 

6. — Lady Eleanor, co-heiress, who m. (see Burke's 
"Royal Families," vol. 1. Ped. LII) , Gryffyth Vychan, fourth 
lord of Glyndyfrdwy, whose descent from Bleddyn Cynfyn, 
King of Powys, 1046, is in Ped. CX. Burke's "Royal De- 
scents," and "Royal Families," IL p. LXI, see also Lloyd's 
"History of Powys Fadog," vol. IV. 118, and had, 

7. — Tudor ap Gryffyth Vychan, lord of Gwyddelwern, 
killed 15 May, 1405, brother to the celebrated Owen Glen- 
dower. He m. Maud, daughter of leuf Howel ap Adar, and 
had, 

8. — Lady Lowry Tudor, heiress, who m. Gruffydd ap 
Einion, of Cors y Gedol, Merionethshire, and had, 

9. — Ellissau ap Gruffydd, who m. Margaret, daughter 
of Jenkin ap levan (also descended from Kings of England) , 
and his wife, Leiki, daughter of Llewellyn ap Edneyfed, of 
Sonby, in Maelor, and had, 

10. — Lowry, who m. Reinaullt Gruffydd ap Rhys, of Bra- 
nas Uchaf, Llan Drillo Plas Ynghrogen (see Dwnn's "Visi- 
tations of Wales," II. 126), and had, 

11. — Mary, who m. Robert Lloyd, of Gwem y Brechtwyn, 
and Glanllyn, also of Royal Descent, and had, 

12. — Thomas Lloyd, 1520-1612, of Nant y Friar, who m. 
Catherine, daughter of Robert ap Griffith, by his wife, Mar- 
garet, daughter of Cadwalader ap Rhys Lloyd, of Cydros, 
and had, Evan, 1555-1640, and 

13. — Mary Lloyd, who m. Richard, of Tyddyn Tyfod, 
Merioneth, and had, 

14. — Rhys ap Richard, whose son, 

[290] 



GENEALOGICAL DATA 

15. — Griffith ap Rhys, of Tyddyn Tyfod, was the father 
of 

16. — Richard Press, of Glanlloidiogin, Llanfawr parish, 
Merionethshire, will dated 26 Jan. 1685-6, proved at St. 
Asaph registry, in 1686. His daughter, 

1.— Hannah Price, b. 1656, who was mentioned with 
her children in her father's will. She m. Rees ap John ap 
William, or Rees Jones, who d. in Merion, 26, llmo. 1697. 
Their children assumed "Jones" as their surname.* 

2. — Edward Rees, of Merion, 1682. » 

3. — Jane, wife of Cadwalader Morgan, of Merion, 1683. 

The above pedigree is partly made up from a quaint let- 
ter, extant but undated, and unsigned, but apparently writ- 
ten by a friend, or relative in Wales to Edward Prees, or 
a member of his family, who had curiosity about his fore- 
fathers. Much of it is faded and undecipherable. 

"My old friend, Edward Prees, hath w in his letter 

to Thomas Lloyd, requesting to send him some intelligence 
of his Pedigree. I know but little thereof at this time but 
give him this much while he stays for more. Edward Prees 
son of Richard son of Griffith son of Re no more than 

this of his Father's side these were own of that 

Land where you have seen William ap Robert and 

the name of that land is Tyddin Tyfod. And the mother 
of Rees Princhard was Mary the D Thomas son of 

Robert David Lloyd the son of D Vaughan son of 



♦Their daughter, Lowry Jones, 1682-1762, m. first, Robert Lloyd, 
of Merion, d. 1714, and was the third wife of Hugh Evans, of Merion, 

1682-1772 (also of Royal Descent), m. 13 Feb. 1716, by whom she had 
Susanna Evans, 1719-1801, who m. 30 May, 1740, Owen Jones, Sr., of 
Merion, 1711-1793, also of Royal Descent (an ancester of Mr. Rodman 
Wister of Philadelphia) , son of Johnathan Jones, of Merion, 1680-1770 

(and grandson of Dr. Edward Jones, of Merion, and greatgrandson 
of Dr. Thomas Wynne of Merion), and his wife, m. at the Merion 
Meeting, 4 Oct. 1705, Gainor Owen, daughter of Robert Owen and 
Rebecca (both of Royal Descent) , of Merion, their daughter, Hannah 
Jones, 1749-1829, m. 1779, Amos Foulke, 1740-1791, of Philadelphia, 
also of Royal Descent, Issue. 

[291] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Griffith son of Evan Son of Madock the son of 

lerwith the son of Madock Flidd of Glan y Llyn 

these followed further by Ann John Vaughan of Mein y 

.The mother of Mary the daughter of Thomas lloyd 
of Gwern y Brychdwyn was Catharine the daughter of 
Robert the son of Griffith the son of Coch the son of Ddu the 
son of David the son of Einion the son of Canwrig Vaughan 
the son of Canwrig the son of Heilin the son of Tyvid the 
son of Tago the son of Ystwyth the son of Marchwyth the 
son of Marcheithian of the fifteen tribes of Gwynedd North 
Wals from the Lord Is Aled. 

The mother of Catharine vch Robert was Margaret the 
daughter of Cadwallader son of Rees Lloyd of Cydros line- 
ally descending from Enion Ardudwy, the mother of Rob- 
ert the son of Griffith was married the daughter of Tudor 
the son of Ewan lloyd of the Upper Plasin Llanfair. The 
mother of Griffith the son of Evan the son of Coch 
was Gwenhwyfir the daughter of Thomas David 
of the Court in Fenel Hill. 

Lineally ing from the Lady Dulas Gray. The 

mother as, the son of Robert Lloyd of Gwern Bry- 

chwyn the dau of Raynold, the son of Griffith 

the of Upper Branas, the mother of Richard Griffith 

llian, the daughter of Rees of the House where 
wen Lived." 

The brothers Charles Lloyd, (who did not come over), 
and Thomas Lloyd, the deputy-governor, large land owners 
in the Welsh Tract, also had remarkable ancestry, in part 
as follows, 

1. — Edward L, King of England, had by his second 
wife, Princess Margaret, daughter of Philip HL, King 
OF France, 

2. — Edmund, Earl of Kent, who m. Lady Margaret, 
daughter of John, Lord Wake, and had, 

3. — Lady Joan Plantagenet, the Fair Maid of Kent, 
(who was the mother of King Richard II., by her third hus- 

[292] 



GENEALOGICAL DATA 

band, Edward the Black Prince) , m. secondly, Sir Thomas 
de Holand, K.G., Earl of Kent, captain-general of Brittany, 
France and Normandy, and had, 

4. — Sir Thomas de Holand, K.G., second Earl of Kent, 
earl marshal of England, who m. Lady Alice, daughter of 
Sir Richard Fitzalan, K.G., Earl of Arundel and Surrey, d. 
1357, and had, 

5. — Lady Alianore de Holand, widow of Roger, Earl 
of March, who m. secondly, Sir Edward de Cherleton, K.G., 
fourth Lord Cherleton, of Powys castle, d. 1420, and had, 

6. — Lady Joan de Cherleton, who m. Sir John de Grey, 
K.G., created in 1418, Earl of Tancarville, killed at battle 
of Baugy Bridge, 1420, and had, 

7. — Sir Henry de Grey, second Earl of Tancarville, d. 
1449, who m. Lady Antigone, daughter of Humphrey, Duke 
of Gloucester, regent of France, and had, 

8.- — Lady Elizabeth de Grey, who m. Sir Roger Kynas- 
ton, d. 1517, and had, 

9. — Humphrey Kynaston, of Morton, Salop, d. 1534, 
who m. Elizabeth, daughter of Meredith ap Howell, of 
Llansilin, Denbighshire, and had, 

10. — Margaret Kynaston, who m. John Lloyd Wynn, 
of DyfFryn, (son of Evan Lloyd, of Dolobran) , and had, 

11. — Humphrey John Lloyd, of Dyflfryn, whose daugh- 
ter, 

12. — Katherine Lloyd, m. John Lloyd, of Coediowrid, 
1575-164-, a magistrate at Dolobran, also of Royal Descent, 
and had. 

13. — Charles Lloyd, 1613-1657, of Dolobran Hall, Mei- 
fod parish, Montgomeryshire, a magistrate, who m. Eliza- 
beth, daughter of Thomas, son of Sir Stanley, Knt., of 
Knockyn, in Salop, and had, 

[293] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

14. — Charles Lloyd, of Dolobran Hall, and Dep. Gov. 
Thomas Lloyd,* the Welsh Tract land owners. 

Martha Awbrey, who came over with the family of John 
Bevan, "being engaged to be married to one Rees Thomas, 
who had gone to Pensylvania," and married him at the 
Haverford Meeting, 18 April, 1692, was also one of the 
early settlers of Merion, who had a remarkable pedigree, 
as follows, 

1. — Gruffydd ap Cynan, King of North Wales, d. 
1136, had a daughter, 

2. — Lady Gwenllian, sister of Owen, Prince of Wales, 
who m. Rhys ap Tewdwr, Prince of South Wales, and had, 



*Some of the prominent descendants of Deputy Gover'nor Thomas 
Lloyd: Mrs. George Emlen, Jr., Miss Ellen Emlen, Mrs. Richard 
Vaux, Thomas Wister, M.D., Mrs. Travis Cochran, Mrs. Richard 
Willing, Mrs. Richard H. Reeve, Mrs. Benjamin C. Reeve, Mrs. Augus- 
tus W. Durkee, Samuel B. Wheeler, Edward Shippen Willing, Countess 
Emily de Ganay, Mrs. Alexander C. Fergusson, Mrs. Charles C. Harri- 
son, Mrs. S. Bowman Wheeler, Prank L. Neall, Clement A. Griscom, 
Countess Ellen van Cuelebroeck, Mrs. Stiles Huber, Preston Carpenter, 
Mrs. Andrew Wheeler, Mrs. Charles E. Noblit, Mrs. John Jacob Aster, 
Hon. Lloyd C. Griscom, Mrs. Charles F. Hulse, Mrs. Malcolm Lloyd,. 
Mrs. Robert B. Haines, Henry H. Collins, Jr., Richard M. Gummere, 
Mrs. Philip Trapnill Allin, Woodruff Jones, Mrs. James S. Merritt, 
Mrs. Prank N. Hickok, Henry Morris, M.D., William Morris Collins, 
Mrs.Ludwig Wilhelmi, Edward Hacker, Mrs. Thomas S.K.Morton, Mrs. 
Henry Carey Baird, Mrs. Charles J. Churchman, Mrs. John B. Bispham, 
Charles Ellet, John Jay Smith, Samuel Rhoads, M.D., Mrs. Philip B. 
Chase, Benj. Raper Smith, Mrs. James B. Morson, Adm. Louis M. 
Goldsborough, Henry Ewing Pope, William J. Wainwright, Mrs. Wil- 
liam H. Gardiner, Robert H. McClenachan, Mrs. Edward K. Rowland, 
Mrs. James A. Lowell, Mrs. Burnet Landreth, Jr., Mrs. Levi Morris, 
Mrs. Charles E. Smith, Rt. Rev. Benj. W. Morris, Mrs. William J. Hardy, 
Jr., Mrs. John Lowell, Jr., Mrs. Walter Abbott Wood, Mrs. Jacob 
Shoemaker Wain, Edward Wain, Mrs. Richard B. Jackson, Mrs. Na- 
thaniel Burwell Marshall, Isaac Norris, Charles Perrin Smith, Mrs. 
Charles Wilson Peale, Mrs. C. Emory McMichael, Mrs. Tench Francis 
Joseph Parker Norris, Daniel Clark Wharton. 

[294] 



GENEALOGICAL DATA 

3. — Lady Elizabeth, who m. Edmund, feudal lord of Cay- 
rowe, and had, 

4. — Sir Edgar de Carew, lord of Cayrowe, who had, 

5. — John de Carew, feudal lord of Carew, whose daugh- 
ter, 

6. — Anne de Carew (also called Nesta) , m. Thomas Aw- 
brey, son of William Awbrey, of Aberkynfrig and Slough, 
in Brecknockshire, and had, 

7. — Thomas Awbrey, of Aberkynfrig, constable, and 
ranger of the forest of Brecon. He m. Johan, daughter of 
Trahaerne ap Einion, lord of Comond, and had, 

8. — Thomas Awbrey-goch, of Aberkynfrig, who m. 
Nesta, daughter of Owen Gethyn, of Glyn Taway, and had, 

9. — Richard Awbrey, of Aberkynfrig, who m. Creislie, 
daughter of Philip ap Elidor ("Phe ab Elerd") , and had, 

10. — Gwalter Awbrey, of Aberkynfrig, second son. He 
m. Johan, daughter and co-heiress of Rees Morgan, of Llan- 
gadog, Carmarthenshire,* and had, 

11. — Morgan Awbrey, of Aberkynfrig, who m. Alice, 
daughter of Gwatkin Thomas ap David Lloyd, and had, 

12. — Jenkin Awbrey, of Aberkynfrig, who m. Gwenllian, 
daughter of Owain ap Griffith, of Tal y Llyn, and had, 

13. — HOPKIN Awbrey, of Aberkynfrig, who m. Anne, 
daughter of John ap Griffith, of Gwyn, and had, 



*His pedigree (see Libscome's "Buckinghamshire," vol. I. p. 67) 
compiled in 1681, was as follows: 

Alfred, King of Dublin, m. Lady Eva, daughter of Dermot, 
King of Leinster, and had, 

SUTTEICK, King of Dublin, who m. Lady Nesta, daughter of Theo- 
dore-mawr, Prince of South Wales, and had, 

Ideo Wyllt, Lord of Clwye, in Brecon, who came out of Ireland 
into Wales with a band of soldiers to the assistance of Rees 
ap Theodore against the Normans." He m. Eleanore, daughter of 
Drympenog, lord of Cantre Seliffe, and had, 

"Cadwgan Hen, Esq., descended from Ideo," whose son, 

"Griffith ap Cadwgan, lord of Llangadog, Esq./' had, Cadwgan- 
GOCH, who had, Howel-goch, who had, Einion, who had, Morgan, 
father of Rees Morgan, aforesaid. 

[295] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

14. — William Awbrey, of Aberkynfrig, d. 27 June, 1547. 
He had by his second wife, Jane, widow of Thomas Lloyd, 
and daughter of Sir Richard Herbert, feudal lord of Mont- 
gomery castle, a gentleman usher to Henry VIH., by his 
second wife, Jane, daughter of Gwilim ap Rees Philip, of 
Llwyn-howell, 

15. — Richard Awbrey, of Aberkynfrig, eldest son and 
heir, d. 1580, after selling his paternal estate. He m. Mar- 
garet, daughter of Thomas Gunter, of Gileston or Gillston, 
and had, 

16. — Richard Awbrey, of Llanelyw, Brecknockshire. He 
was buried in the parish church 25 Sep. 1646, with an in- 
scribed monument. He m. Anne, daughter of William 
Vaughan, of Llanelyw, and had, 

17. — Thomas Awbrey, of Llanelyw parish, third son, 
whose son, 

18. — William Awbrey, of Llanelyw parish, d. 16 Dec. 
1716, aged 90 years, and was buried with his ancestors in 
the parish church, under an inscribed stone. He m. in 1646, 
his cousin, Elizabeth, daughter of William, eldest son of 
Richard Awbrey, d. 1646, aforesaid, and succeeded to the 
farms in Llanelyw. Their daughter, 

19. — Martha Awbrey, h. 166-, became a Quaker, and m. 
18 June 1692, at the Haverford Meeting, Rees Thomas, who 
became a J. P. and member of the Pensylvania assembly, 
will proved 12 Feb. 1742-3. Issue.* 

Rowland Ellis, of "Bryn Mawr," in the Welsh tract, be- 
sides having the Royal line given in another page, had also 
further remarkably distinguished ancestry, as follows, be- 
ing descended from Lady Mary Kynston, a sister of Hum- 
phrey Kynaston, the ancestor of Dep. Gov. Thomas Lloyd. 



*ATnong their prominent descendants are Mrs. Charles Richard- 
son, Mrs. George B. Roberts, Mrs. Henry K. Dillard, Miss Mary Wil- 
liam Perot, Mrs. Nathan Brooke, Hunter Brooke, Jr., Mrs. George H. 
Colket, William Thomas Brooke, Mi-s. J. Howard Lewis, Jr., Hugh 
Jones Brooke, and Mrs. Harrison Koons Caner. 

[296] 



GENEALOGICAL DATA 

1. — Edward L, King of England, had by his first wife, 
Princess Eleanor, daughter of Ferdinand III., King op 
Castile and Leon, 

2. — Lady Joan of Acre, who m. first, his second wife, 
Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester, and had, 

3. — Lady Margaret de Clare, who m. secondly, Hugh, 
second Baron D'Audley, created in 1337, Earl of Gloucester, 
and had, 

4. — Lady Margaret d'Audley, who m. Sir Ralph, second 
Baron Stafford, K.G., created in 1351, Earl of Stafford, and 
had, 

5. — Lady Joan de Stafford, who m. John, second Baron 
Cherleton, of Powys Castle, chamberlain to Edward III., 
(see Jones' "Feudal Barons of Powys"), and had, 

6. — Sir Edward de Cherleton, K.G., fourth Baron 
Cherleton, of Powys castle, who m. Lady Alianor, daugh- 
ter of Sir Thomas de Holand, K.G., second Earl of Kent, 
earl marshal, also of Royal Descent, and had, 

7. — Lady Joane de Cherleton, who m. Sir John de Grey, 
K.G., created in 1418, Earl of Tankerville, killed 22 March, 
1420, also of Royal Descent, and had, 

8. — Sir Henry de Grey, second Earl of Tankerville, d. 
1449, who m. Lady Antigone, daughter of Humphrey, Duke 
of Gloucester, regent of France, and had by her, 

9. — Lady Elizabeth de Grey, who vi. Sir Roger Kynas- 
ton, d. 1517, also of Royal Descent, and had, 

10. — Lady Mary Kynaston, who m. Howell ap levan, of 
Gnya y Maen-gwyn, and had, 

11. — Humphrey Howell, who m. Lady Anne, daughter 
of Sir Richard Herbert, of Colebrook, and had, 

12. — Jane Humphrey, who m. Griffith ap Howell, of 
Nannau, in Merionethshire, 1541 (see Dwnn's "Visitations 
of Wales," II. p. 226), a descendant of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, 
a prince of Powys, and had, 

[297] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

13. — John Geiffith, of Nannau, second son, who m. 
Elizabeth, daughter of David Lloyd, of Trawsfynedd, or 
Tawrynydd, and had, 

14. — Lewis John Griffith, of Dyffrydan tp., Merioneth- 
shire, who m. Ellen, daughter of Howell Griffith, and had, 
Owen Lewis* and 

15. — Rees Lewis, who m. Catherine, daughter of Elisha 
ap David Owen, and had, 

16. — Ellis ap Rees Lewis, or Ellis Price, of Bryn Mawr, 
Merionethshire, 1649, who m. Anne Humphrey, daughter of 
Humphrey Hugh Howell, and his wife, Elizabeth Powell, 
also of Roval Descent, (as in another page), and had, 

17. — Rowland Ellis, of "Bryn Mawr," in the Welsh 
Tract, d. 1729. Issue. 

As members of the Foulke family, Welsh Quakers, which 
settled in Gwynedd Tp., intermarried with several Merion 
families, its pedigree is of interest here. To a certain point 
it is the same as those of Rowland Ellis, Gov. Thomas Lloyd, 
and Edward Rees, Hananh, wife of Rees Jones, and Jane, 
wife of Cadwallader Morgan, and is as follows : 

1. — Edward L, King of England, had by the Princess 
Eleanor, of Castile, 

2. — Lady Joan, who m. first, Gilbert, Earl of Hertford, 
and had, 

3. — Lady Margaret de Clare, who w. Hugh, Earl of 
Gloucester, and had, 



*OwEN Lewis, m. Mary, daughter of Tudor-vaughn, of Caer y 
Nwch, in Merionethshire, and had, 

Robert ap Owen Lewis, who m. Margaret, daughter of John ap 
Lewis, and had, 

Lewis Robert Owen, who had by his wife, Mary, family unknown, 

Ellis Lewis, who removed into Ireland, and came to Petisylvania, 
bringing certificate from the Friends' Meeting at Mt. Mellick, in 
Queen's Co., dated 25 May, 1708. He settled in Kennett tp., Chester 
Co., Pa., where he d. 31 Aug. 1750, his will proved 29 Oct. following. 
He m. first, in 1713, at the Concord Mo. Mtg., Elizabeth Newlin, and 
had issue. 

[298] 



GENEALOGICAL DATA 

4. — Lady Margaret D'AuDiiEY, who m. Ralph, Earl of 
Stafford, and had, 

5. — Lady Joan de Stafford, who m. John, 2d Lor^ 
Cherleton, and had, 

6. — Lady Joan de Cherleton, who m. John, sixth BaroK 
Le Strange, of Knockyn Castle, also of Royal Descent, d^ 
1397, (see Lloyd's History of Powys Fadog, vol, IV., 48),, 
and had, 

7. — Lady Elizabeth le Strange, who m. Gruffydd ap> 
Madoc Vychan, third feudal Baron of Glyndyfrdwy, and 
lord of Rhuddalt, (see Burke's "Royal Families," vol. II, fo. 
LXI), and had, 

8. — Lady Isabel Griffith, who m. Goronway ap Gruffytls 
Madoc, and had, 

9. — Tudor, feudal lord of Penllyn, who had, 

10. — HowEL Tudor, whose son, 

11. — David-llwyd Tudor had, 

12. — Lady Gwenhwyfar Tudor, who m. David ap levan- 
vychan, of Llanuwchllyn, in Penllyn, descended from the^ 
feudal Barons of Penllyn, (see Dwnn's Visitations of 
Wales), and had, 

13. — David-llwyd, who m. Lowry, daughter of Howel- 
vaughan, and had, 

14. — Robert-llwyd, of Gwerny Breehtwyn, who m. Mary» 
daughter of Reinaullt, of Branas Uchaf , and had, 

15. — Thomas Robert-llwyd, 1520-1612, of Nant y Friar,, 
or Nanfreur, in Penllyn, Merioneth, buried in the parishi 
church of Llandderfel, 21 May, 1612. He m. Catherine,., 
daughter of Robert Griffith Evan-goch, who was descended: 
from levan-goch, of Cwm Penaner, Denbigh, an ancestor of 
John Cadwalader, the Philadelphia school teacher, and of 
John ap Thomas, of "Company No. 1" (see Dwnn's Visita- 
tions of Wales, 1585-1603), and had Mary, wife of Richardj, 
of Tyddyn Tyfod, and 

16. — Evan ap Thomas Lloyd, 1555-1640, buried at the 
Llanderfol church. He m. Dorothea Evans, buried with 
her husband, in Feb. 1619, and had, 

[299] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

17. — Thomas Evan Lloyd, high sheriff of Merioneth- 
shire, 1623, d. Nov. 1649; m. Catherine, daughter of Wil- 
liam David, of Llanderfel, and had, 

18. — Ffoulke ap Thomas Lloyd, hapt. at Llanderfol, 
14 April, 1623 ; m. Lowry, daughter of Edward David Ellis, 
of Llanvor, Merioneth, and had (see Jenkins's History of 
Gwynedd) , 

19. — Edward Foulke, 1651-1741, he removed from Coed 
y Foel, 2 Feb. 1698, to a tract of 700 acres of land which 
he had bought in Gwynedd tp., Philadelphia county, with 
his family. He m. Eleanor or Ellin Hughs, (also of Royal 
Descent, as below), daughter of Hugh Cadwallader Rhys, 
of Yspytty, or Spytu parish, Denbighshire, and had by her, 
who d. in 1733, nine children.* 

1. — John, King op England, had by his second wife. 
Queen Isabella, 

2. — Lady Eleanor Plantagenet, who m. secondly, 
Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and had, 

3. — Lady Eleanor de Montfort, who m. Llewellyn 
Gryffyth, the last sovereign Pi-ince of Wales, 1232, and had, 

4. — Lady Catherine, who m. Philip Ivor, lord of Iscoed, 
and had, 

5. — Lady Eleanor, who m. Thomas Llewellyn, of Trefgar- 
ned, and had, 

6. — Lady Eleanor, who m. Gryffyth Vychan, lord of 
Glyndyfrdwy, and had, 

7. — Lowry Vaughan, sister to the celebrated Owen Glen- 
dower. She m. Robert Pyllesdon, or Puleston, lord of Emral 
manor, Caernarvonshire, and had, 



*Among the prominent descendants of Edward Foulke are Ed- 
ward Jeanes Foulke, Howard M. Jenkins, Frank Foulke, Charles 
Francis Jenkins, Richard Foulke Beirne, Warren M. Stansbury, James 
Cresson, Thomas Corson Yocum, Mrs. Jawood Lukens, Mrs. Howard 
Comfort, Mrs. Robert R. Corson, Geo. Rhyfedd Foulk, Wm. Parker 
Foulke, Mrs. Henry Carvill Lewis, J. Roberts Foulke, Linford Foulke, 
Mrs. Richard H. Day, Richard C. Foulke, M.D., Allen Childs, Jacob 
Sperry Willing, and John M. Whitall, Jr. 

[300] 



GENEALOGICAL DATA 

8. — John Puleston, of Emral, heir, who m. Angharad, 
dau. of Griffith de Hanmer, and had, 

9. — Margaret Puleston, (see Dwnn's Visitations of 
Wales) , who m. David levan ap Einion, of Cryniarth, con- 
stable of Harlech Castle, in 1468, and had, 

10. — Angharad David (sister to Einion David, of Cry- 
niarth, in Edermon, mentioned above), who m. Gwilym ap 
Gruffydd Robert, of Coch Willym, high sheriff of Caernar- 
vonshire, and had, 

11. — Gwenllian William, who m. David ap Meredydd 
(or Meredith) ap Howel, of Bala, Merionthshire, and had, 

12. — Howel Lloyd David, of Bala, m, Mallt vch. Howell 
Tychan, of Llnyaiarth, Montgomeryshire, and had, 

13. — Thomas Gethin Howel, of y Danyfaen, Denbig- 
shire, m. Catherine v. David ap levan, of same place, and 
had, 

14. — Margaret Thomas, who m. Hugh Thomas ap David, 
of Cae Fadog, Ciltalgarth tp., Llanfor par., Merionth, and 
had, 

15._William Hugh, of Cae Fadog, d. before 1627-8, His 
son, 

16. — Ellis ap William, or Ellis Williams, d. at Cae Fa- 
dog, where his personal estate was inventoried, and admin- 
istered, 26 Feb. 1645, by Margaret John, his relict, at St. 
Asaph Registry. Of his children : — * 



*An extant memorandum, made about 174-, which is copied i'nto 
the records of the Haverford Mo. Mtg., says, "Ellis Williams of Cai- 
fadog had four Daughters, viz: Margaret, Douse, Givenn, and Ellin. 
The said Ellin married John Morris of Brin Gwin in Denbigshire, by 
her had one Daughter named Ellin who married Cadwalader ab 
Evan late of Gwynedd deceased," (he d. in 1745). "Givenn (another 
Daughter of the said Ellis Williams) had 3 children who came to 
Pensilvania," as given above. And also : "Evan Robert Lewis was 
an honest, sober man, lived in Fron Goch, [p. 155], he had five sons, 
viz: 1. John ab Evan, 2. Cadw'r, 3. Owen ab Evan, 4. Griffith ab 
Evan, and 5, Evan ab Evan. The first John ab Evan had 3 Sons & 
three daughters by his first wife." 

[301] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

1, — Ellin Williams, m. John Morris, of Bryn Gwyn, 
Denbigh, and had, 

Ellin Morris, m. Cadwalader Evans, 1664-1745, re- 
moved to Gwynedd tp., in 1698, elsewhere mentioned. 

2, — Gw^EN WILLLA.MS, m. Hugh Cadwalader Rhys, of 
Yspytty parish, Denbigh, alive in Dec. 1688, and had, 

I. — Jane Hughs, m. William John, who removed to Gwy- 
aedd tp., in 1698, a son of John Evan, of Penmaen. 

II, — John ap Hugh, or John Pugh, removed to Gwynedd 
tp., m. and had Ellis Pugh, of Gwynedd. 

III. — Ellin Hughs, d. 1733, who m. Edward ffoulke, 
1651-1741 ; to Gwynedd tp., in 1698, also of Royal Descent, 
as above. One of their children, Jane Foulke, d. 8mo. 7. 
1766 ; m. 4mo. 5, 1718, Ellis Hughs, 1688-1764, of Exeter, 
Pa., and had, William Hughs, of Exeter, 1716-1760, from 
whom descends Mrs. Walter D. Mansfield, of San Francisco, 
aee Browning's "Colonial Dames of Royal Descent," p. 389. 



[302] 



EARLY DAYS 
IN THE WELSH TRACT 



ANNALS OF WELSH SETTLERS 

Having seen the Welsh Quakers put in possession of 
their land purchases in their tract beyond the Schuylkill, 
and the settlements begun, we will now listen to the stories 
of some of them, as told in letters by themselves, or by 
their grandchildren, or Pensylvania annalists, of their ex- 
periences in early days here, and learn something of their 
habits, and environments in the time of the beginning of 
the city, and of the Commonwealth. 

As to these first comers, it was Proud's opinion, and his 
opinion applies as well to the Welsh as the English, "they 
appear to have been provident and cautious in their re- 
moval, so that rashness and inconsideration, so common in 
new attempts of this kind, was not for the most part much 
observable among them. Many of them brought servants, 
and had provided themselves with food and raiment for such 
a space of time after their arrival as it might reasonably 
be supposed their care and industry would afterwards pro- 
cure necessary subsistence in the province, besides sufficient 
quantities of household furniture, utensils, implements and 
tools." And "notwithstanding the precaution, which many 
of these adventurers had used, in bringing provisions and 
other necessaries with them, for a certain time, yet it cannot 
be reasonably supposed that the arrival of such a large num- 
ber of persons, in a wilderness, within the space of two or 
three years, would not necessarily be attended with incon- 
veniencies and difficulties," and then tells of cases of suffer- 
ing. "Besides," he continues, "these adventurers were not 
all young persons, and able to endure the difficulties and 
hardships which are mostly unavoidable in subduing a wil- 
derness, nor as equally regardless of convenient accommoda- 
tions as young, healthy, and strong men, accustomed to 

[305] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

labour and disappointment, but there were among them 
persons advanced in years, with women and children, and 
such as, in their native country, had lived well, and en- 
joyed ease and plenty." 

"Their first business, after their arrival," says Proud, 
writing out, in 1797, the annals descended to him from Caleb 
Pusey, the "Governor's miller," whose recollections easily 
went back to 1681-2, and applied to the Welsh, as well as the 
English, "was to land their property, and put it under such 
shelter as could be found; then, while some of them got 
warrants of survey, for taking up so much land as was 
sufficient for immediate settling, others went diversely fur- 
ther into the woods to different places, where their lands 
were laid out, often without any path or road to direct them, 
for scarce any were to be found above two miles from the 
water side [Delaware], not so much as any mark, or sign 
of any European having been there. As to the Indians, they 
seldomed travelled so regularly as to be traced, or followed 
by foot-steps, except, perhaps, from one of their towns to 
another. [This statement contradicts many 'old Indian 
path' claims in the Welsh tract]. So that all the country, 
further than about two miles distant from the river [Dela- 
ware] was an entire wilderness, producing nothing for sup- 
port of human life, but the wild fruits and animals of the 
woods." Yet there must have been some cleared grounds 
across the Schuylkill, since there are mentions of "old In- 
dian fields" in land records, and these Penn particularly 
claimed for himself. 

"The lodgings of some of these settlers were at first in 
the woods. A chosen tree was frequently all the shelter they 
had against the inclemency of the weather. The next cover- 
ings of many of them were either caves in the earth, or 
such huts as could be most expeditiously procured, [havod- 
un-nos, as the Welsh term them], till better houses were 
built, the Welsh hendree, the stone house, in a hill-sheltei'ed 
spot, near a good spring of water], for which they had no 
want of timber." The finest log cabins were built of barked, 

[306] 



SETTLERS' EXPERIENCES 

and hewn logs of equal thickness, with stairs, or a ladder on 
the outside to reach the upper chamber, the first floor was 
pounded earth, as was the floors of all the early meeting 
houses. "The appearance of a wild and woody desert, with 
which they had now to encounter, among savages, must 
have created in them very sensible ideas, and made strong 
impressions, at first, on their minds. That likewise the con- 
sideration of the long and painful labour, and inevitable 
disappointments and hardships, which are naturally insep- 
arable from such undertakings, and for a series of years 
must necessarily be endured, before a comfortable subsist- 
ence could be procured in a country, and a sufficient portion 
of land brought into proper order for that purpose, must 
undoubtedly have been very affecting to a thoughtful peo- 
ple, in this new, remote, and solitary situation." "These first 
comers, after their arrival, soon cleared land enough to make 
way for a crop of Indian corn, in the succeeding spring, 
and in a year or two, they began upon wheat, and other 
grain. Thus they went on improving till they got into a 
comfortable way of living." 

While not a Welshman, "The Testimony of Richard Town- 
send, showing the providential hand of God, to him and 
others, from the first settlement of Pennsylvania," is not 
without interest in this connection. He relates, that having 
settled his business in London, where he dwelt, he and his 
wife and child embarked with William Penn, on the "Wel- 
come," "about the latter end of the Sixth-month," 1682. 
After referring to the passage as "properous," during which 
nearly every passenger had the smallpox, and thirty died, as 
others recovered, they landed and "found the New World a 
wilderness, and the chief inhabitants Indians," and some 
Swedes, "who received us in a friendly manner, though 
there was a great number of us. The good hand of Provi- 
dence was seen in a particular manner, in that provisions 
were found for us by the Swedes and Indians, at very rea- 
sonable rates. Our first concern was to keep up and main- 

[307] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

tain our religious worship, and, in order thereunto we had 
several meetings in the houses of the inhabitants, and one 
boarded meeting-house was set up [Oct. 1681] where the 
city was to be, near Delaware, and after our meeting was 
over, we assisted each other in building little houses for our 
shelter. After a time, I set up a mill [belonging to Penn's 
milling company] on Chester Creek, which I brought ready 
framed from London, which served for grinding corn, and 
sawing of boards, and was of great use to us. There not 
being plenty of horses, people generally brought their corn 
on their backs many miles." This was when the Welsh 
Friends were forbidden by Penn to have mills of their own, 
convenient to their homes. 

As there were always a considerable number of Welsh 
in Philadelphia, it may be presumed that some abandoned 
their country lots, or sold them, and removed to the "city," 
and that there were others who never got into the country, 
being tradespeople, and not farmers. The city life was be- 
coming attractive, for the town grew rapidly. In 1683, Wil- 
liam Penn wrote, "from my arrival in 1682, to date hereof, 
being ten months, we got up four score houses at our town, 
from that time to my coming away, which was a year, within 
a few weeks, the town advanced to 357 houses, divers of 
them large, well built, with good cellars, three stories, and 
some balconies." John Goodson, 24, 6mo. 1690, telling of 
Philadelphia, wrote, "They build all with stone and brick 
now. Except the very meanest sorts of people, which build 
framed houses with timber and fetheredge-boards without 
side, tv/o stories high." And there were seven "ordinaries" 
or taverns, in the town, as early as in 1683. Davis's Queen's 
Head tavern in Vl^'ater Street, being the meeting place of the 
non-Quaker Welsh in town, where they had religious services 
in the Welsh tongue. In 1685, Robert Turner wrote of the 
town, "There are about 600 houses [put up] in three years' 
time." And Logan wrote, 2, 6mo. 1684, that 800 Friends 
attended the Philadelphia meeting. 

[308] 



SETTLERS' EXPERIENCES 

Although the information contained in the following let- 
ter, written about 1710, is hearsay, for its writer, John 
Jones, was born in Pensylvania, it is interesting. He was 
a son of a Thomas Sion Evan, (or Thomas Jones), who 
came to the South River, or Delaware country, from near 
Bala, Merionthshire, in April, 1682, and subsequently set- 
tled in what became Radnor township, whose will, signed 
31, 1, 1707, was proved at Phila. 23, 7, 1707 ; to be guardians 
and overseers, Rowland Ellis, Sr., Joseph Owen, and Row- 
land Ellis, the younger. The date of this interesting letter, 
entirely in Welsh language, is uncertain, but it was writ- 
ten after 1707.* 

"My Dear Kinsman, Hugh Jones, 

"I received a letter from you dated May, 8th, 1705, and I 
was glad to find that one of my relatives in the old land of 
which I have heard so much was pleased to recollect me. 
I have heard my father speak much about old Cymru ; but I 
was bom in this woody region — this new world." 

Then, mentioning many places in Wales he had heard 
his parents talk affectionately about, "and the kind-hearted 
and innocent old people who lived in them," he continued, 
"And now, my friend, I will give an account of the life and 
fortunes of my dear father, from the time he left Wales 
to the day of his death." 

"He was at St. Peter's fair, at Bala [10 July, 1681], when 
he first heard of Pensylvania, three weeks only after this, 
he took leave of his neighbors and relatives, who were 
anxiously looking forward to his departure for London on 
his way to America. 

"Here [in London] he waited three months for a ship ; and 
at length went out in one bearing the name of "William 
Penn." He had a very tempestuous passage for several 
weeks, and when in sight of the river Delaware, owing to 
adverse winds and a boisterous sea, the sails were torn, and 
the rudder injured. By this disaster they were greatly dis- 
heartened, and were obliged to go back to the Barbadoes, 

*Printed in the Cambrian Magazine, 1833. 

[309] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

where they continued three weeks, expending much money 
in refitting the ship. Being now ready for a second attempt, 
they easily accomplished their voyage and arrived safely 
in the river Delaware, on the 16th of April, being thirty 
weeks fi'om the time they left London. During this long 
voyage, he learned to speak and read English tolerabl> 
well. 

"They now came up the river 120 miles, to the place Phil- 
adelphia is at present situate. At that time, as the Welsh 
say, there was 'na thy nae ymogor,' [neither house nor 
shelter], but the wild woods, nor any one to welcome them 
to land. A poor outlook this for persons who had been su 
long at sea, many of whom had spent their little all. 

"This was not the place for them to remain stationary. 
My father, therefore, went alone where chance led him, to 
endeavor the means of subsistence. He longed much at this 
time for milk, 

"During his wanderings, he met with a drunken old man, 
who understood neither Welsh nor English, and, who no- 
ticing the stranger, by means of some signs and gesticula- 
tions, invited him to his dwelling, where he was received by 
the old man's wife and several sons, in the most kind and 
hospitable manner. They were Swedes. Here he made his 
home till he had habitation of his own. 

"As you shall hear, during the summer of 1682, [October] , 
our governor, William Penn, Esq'r, arrived here, together 
with several from England, having bought lands here. 

"They now began to divide the country into allotments 
and to plan the city of Philadelphia (which was to be more 
than two miles in length), laying it out in streets and 
squares, etc., with portions of land assigned to several of 
the houses. He also bought the freehold of the soil from 
the Indians, a savage race of men, who have lived here from 
time immemorial, as far as I am able to understand. They 
can give no account of themselves, not knowing where or 
whence they came here ; an irrational set, I should imagine, 
but they have some kind of reason, too, and extraordinary 

[310] 



SETTLERS' EXPERIENCES 

natural endowments in their peculiar way ; they had neither 
towns nor villages, but lived in booths or tents. 

"In the autumn [August] of this year [1682], several 
from Wales arrived here — Edward ab Rhys [Edward 
Frees], Edward Jones of Bala [the doctor], William ab 
Edward, and many others. 

"By this time, there was a kind of neighborhood here, 
although, as neighbors they could little benefit each other. 
They were sometimes in making huts beneath some cliff, 
or under the hollow banks of rivulets, thus sheltering them- 
selves where their fancy dictated. 

"There were neither cows, nor horses, to be had at any 
price. Yet no one was in want, and all were much at- 
tached to each other. 

"During this eventful period, our governor began to 
build mansion houses at different intervals, to the distance 
of fifty miles from the city, although the country appeared 
a complete wilderness. 

"At this time, my father, Thomas Sion [John] Evan, 
was living with the Swedes [possibly the Swenson or Swan- 
son family], and intending daily to return to Wales. But, 
as time advanced, the country improved. In the course of 
three years, several were beginning to obtain a pretty good 
livelihood, and my father determined to remain with them. 

"There was by this time no land to be bought within 
twelve miles of the city, and my father having purchased 
a small tract of land [in Radnor] married the widow of 
Thomas Llwyd [Lloyd] of Penmaen, [a poet]. He now 
went to live near the woods. It was now a very rare, but 
pleasing thing to hear a neighbor's cock crow. 

"My father had now only one small horse. In process of 
time, however, the little which he had prospered, so that 
he became possessed of horses, cows, and everything else 
that was necessary for him. During the latter years of his 
life, he kept twelve good milch cows. He had eight children. 
He was a muscular man." 

[311] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

The writer of this letter, which is a fine advertisement 
of some school in Radnor tp., was the eldest child. He and 
his brother, Joseph b. 28. 2. 1695, each received a farm from 
their father, as also did his sister Elizabeth, b. 8. 11. 1691, 
she married, as stated, in the letter, Risiart ab Thomas ab 
Rhys. His mother, Lowry, he says, was then 75 years old. 

Probably one of the most valuable and interesting let- 
ters of the first Welsh settlers preserved is that of Dr. 
Edward Jones, the leader of "Company No. 1," of Pensyl- 
vania adventurers, the first settler of Merion, since it was 
written 26 Aug. 1682, thirteen days after landing here. It 
is what may be defined as a chatty letter, and a letter of ad- 
vice to immigrants, and is full of interesting items showing 
the state of affairs and prices current, in the home of their 
adoption as viewed by a man of education and refinement, 
to his partner, in this land adventure, John ap Thomas. It 
confirm.s much that John Jones told in the aforesaid letter. 

"Ye name of town [Philadelphia] lots," he wrote, "is 
called now Wicoco. Here is a Crowd of people striving for 
ye Country land, for ye town lot is not divided, & therefore 
we are forced to take up ye Country lots. We had much 
adoe to get a grant of it, but it cost us 4 or 5 days attend- 
ance, besides some score of miles we traveled before we 
brought it to pass, [this was locating the 5.000 acre share 
of the general purchase from Penn, and which became 
'Merion,' or (Lower) Merion township]. I hope it will 
please thee, and the rest yt are concerned, for it hath most 
rare timber. I have not seen the like in all these parts, there 
is water enough besides. The end of each lot will be on a 
river, as large or larger than the Dye at Bala, it is called 
Skool Kill River." 

The expected discomforts of the first settlers of Merion, is 
further recorded in an old Bible by someone who probably 
had heard the immigrants relate them, thus: — 

"In the fall of 1682, William ap Edwards, with his family, 
Edward Jones, Edward Rees, Robert Davies, and many 

[312] 



SETTLERS' EXPERIENCES 

others, settled on the west side of the Schuylkill, Six or 
seven miles distant from the city, there dug caves, walled 
them, and dwelt therein a considerable time, where they 
suffered many hardships in the beginning. The next season 
being wet and rainy, about their barley harvest [time], 
they could not get their grain dry to stack before it swelled, 
and it began to sprout, rendering it unfit for bread. They 
were in their necessities supplied by the natives with veni- 
son and wild fowl. Their first cows to milk were obtained 
from New Castle, and divided among the neighbors, and 
not having inclosures for them, they were obliged to tie 
them with rope of grape vine, some to a tree, or a stake 
driven into the ground, there being plenty of grass and 
sweet weeds. The Lord blessed them, and enabled them to 
bear their difficulties for a time, and blessed their labor 
with great success in raising grain, and every support they 
could wish for." 

However, we have William Penn's word for it that the 
first winter, 1682-3, the Merion settlers lived here, was the 
coldest in the memory of "the oldest inhabitants," (White, or 
Indian). It may have been that being unprepared for 
weather colder than a winter in Wales, they "suffered many 
hardships," having only poor shelters for dwellings, and 
only green wood for fires. In Penn's letter to London share- 
holders of the Free Society of Traders, he wrote from 
Philadelphia, on 16. 8mo.* 1683, when he had been here 
almost a year. He said he had then "lived over the coldest 
and hottest times that the oldest liver in the province can 
remember," so this first year must have been one of ex- 
treme of temperature. In general, what were Mr. Penn's 
experiences this year, were those of Dr. Edward Jones, and 
his neighbors, on the bank of the Schuylkill, who had been 



*The date of this letter shows that Penn did not always begin the 
year with "the month called March," the then "First Month," for the 
letter is dated "8th month," which according to the then custom would 
make it written in October, and he was writing in August. 

[313] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

here just one year. Penn says that from the time of his 
arrival in October, up to December, the weather was mild, 
"like an English mild spring," and "from December to the 
beginning of the month called March, we had sharp, frosty 
weather, not foul, thick, black weather, [as in England], 
but a sky as clear as in summer, and the air dry, cold, 
piercing and hungry," and tells that .the Delaware river was 
frozen over for a few days. We can imagine what sort of 
a winter he passed through, but he was writing an adver- 
tisement of his province to be published in England, so why 
tell of "zero weather" to possible customers used only to 
a mild winter. (Rowland Ellis was more candid in his de- 
scription of a Pensylvania winter, in a letter quoted further 
on). "From March to June," Penn continues, "we enjoyed 
sweet spring, gentle showers, and a fine sky." "From 
thence to this present month, we have had extraordinary 
heats." 

Thomas Ellis, of Haverford, in a letter dated 13. 4mo. 
1685, tells of the hard winter in Pensylvania he had just 
passed through. He says no ships could leave Philadelphia 
in February, "being there was so much winter wether ['twas 
certainly a bad spell of weather] , the like was hardly known, 
and so no seasoning wether for tobacco." 

The make-shift protections against storms and freezing 
weather which the first settlers used in their necessity, nat- 
urally influenced the accounts of their first winter in Ameri- 
ca. It is notorious that the first settlers on the Delaware, 
where they supposed Philadelphia was to be, lived in 
"caves," dug in the river bluff. And it also may be pre- 
sumed that the Welsh Friends on the Schuylkill did the 
same. These artificial grottoes were by no means poor ac- 
commodations, excepting that the occupants must, in many 
large families, have been greatly cramped for room, and 
there could not have been any opportunity for privacy. 
But they were no worse off than the Western pioneers In 
their cabins. The description of one of the best "caves" 

[314] 



SETTLERS' EXPERIENCES 

has come down to us as follows. First, a pit was dug, three 
feet deep, and twelve by fifteen feet in extent, in the river 
bank, well up from the water. The side towards the river 
was levelled and left open. The side walls were carried up 
from the ground to the height of the tallest man standing 
erect, with interlaced and thatched saplings, and the roof 
over all was also made this way. The floor was beaten 
earth. So it may be imagined these temporary abodes were 
fairly comfortable, when the family was in the open much 
of the time, and certainly they were substantially put up, 
as in the city some were rented to party after party of new 
comers, and some became boarding houses, and worse, and, 
becoming a scandal to the city, all were extirpated. 

In the country, it is said some of these caves were in ex- 
istence* many years after the log cabin was put up, and 
became stables, and in many cases the old log cabin, re- 
placed by the stone house, was left standing and used for 
servants' quarters, or for storage. There are a few of 
these cabins still standing in the Welsh Tract, at least it 
is so claimed, which were the early home of the founders 
of our most prominent families. 



*The only instance known to me of the original "cave dwelling" 
of an early settler being preserved, or identified, in the family of a 
present day descendant, is the one belonging to the Lownes family, 
in Springfield tp., now in Delaware Co. Hugh Lownes, and his wife 
Jane, and four children, sailed from Chester, England, for Pensyl- 
vania in 1685. They were Friends. Mr. Lownes had been imprisoned 
because he was "a practicing Quaker," and contracted a disease in 
jail from which he died at sea. His widow took up his land in Spring- 
field tp., and farmed it, and a portion of the old place is owned by 
descendants. On this property is the cave, a natural rock grotto, 
which served as the home for the widow and her children, till the 
log cabin was built, which in turn was followed by the present stone 
mansion. The cave has been carefully protected all these years, and 
is marked on a tablet, "Jane Lownes's Cave and Dwelling, 1685." 
Watson, in his "Annals of Philadelphia," mentions that the "cave," 
made and used by the Quaker family of Coates, was incorporated in 
the cellar of their brick house, erected at Front and Green streets, 
and survived till his day (1830). 

[315] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

A preserved letter,* written in the spring of 1698, by 
Eowland Ellis, of "Bryn Mawr," gives us a good view of 
the progress Merion had made in ten years, and customs 
of its people in their new home. Mr. Ellis had shortly re- 
turned from Wales, where he went in the spring of 1688, 
after having been here about a year, so his letter may be 
considered one of an observant man considering contrasts. 

"They begin now to build the houses with Stone, & many 
with brick, whc may be made in any place here. * * * * 
There are but few natives now. Not 1 to 10 as formerly. 
As many as there is, are very quiet. 

"A new comer may supply himself with horses, cows, and 
sheep, as many as he wants — good horse £4 with you, may 
cost £8 more or less ; Good Cow here, £5, or 6 ; beef ye last 
fall 21/4 per pound; pork 3d; cheese 7d; butter lOd. to Is. 
per pound ; mutton 5d. also ; wheat 8s ; Rye 6s ; Malt 6s. ye 
bushell. All other things are very dear, accordingly all 
things, whether foreign, or country commodities, will fall. 

"We had a very cold winter, such another people here 
cannot remember; hard frost, & deep snow, which con- 
tinued untill ye beginning of this month ; we bore it I think 
as well as most, we had an indifferent good house, very 
good & large chimney ; we made fire night & day. * * * * 
It has been very sickly season here ye last fall & winter; 
several died of our Countrymen." 

Proud, in his History of Pensylvania, says further of 
these first colonists and early settlers, "Among those ad- 
venturers and settlers, who arrived about this time [1682-3] , 
were also many from Wales, of these who are called An- 
cient Britons, and mostly Quakers, divers of whom were of 
the original, or early stock of that society there. They had 
early purchased of the Proprietary, in England, 40,000 
acres of land. Those who came, at present, took up so much 
of it, on the west side of Sculkil river, as made the three 
townships of Merion, Haverford, and Radnor; and in a 



*Pa. Mag. of His., 1894. 

[316] 



SETTLERS' EXPERIENCES 

few years afterwards, their number was so much aug- 
mented, as to settle the three other townships of New-town, , 
Goshen, and Uwchland." 

"Divei-s of these early Welsh settlers were persons of 
excellent and worthy character, and several of good educa- 
tion, family, and estate ; chiefly Quakers, and many of them 
either eminent preachers in the society, or otherwise quali- 
fied and disposed to do good, in various capacities, both in 
religious and civil, in public and private life. Of some of 
them there are particular and extraordinary accounts in 
manuscript, both respecting their eminent religious services 
among the Quakers, &c., and also of their great usefulness 
among their neighbors, in settling the province, and in re- 
gulating and managing the civil affairs of the government; 
as persons highly and justly esteemed and distinguished 
both in private and public station." 

In his notice of these Welsh who were active in public 
life, and in the affairs of the Province, as well as in those 
of the Friends, Proud named as the most prominent only 
Rowland Ellis, Robert Owen, Hugh Roberts, and Ellis Pugh. * 
But there were a few others of the Welshmen who were 
quite as prominent in the affairs of Philadelphia county, and 
who represented it in the assembly, before 1709, namely 
Thomas Lloyd, Griffith Jones, David Lloyd, Griffith Owen, 
John Bevan, Thomas Wynne, Rees Thomas, John Roberts, 
etc. 

In the very first meeting of the assembly, in Philadelphia, 
on 10 and 12, Imo. 1683, out of the nine representatives 
from Philadelphia Co. two were Welshmen, Dr. Wynne and 
Dr. Owen. But in 1684 and 1685, no Welshman repre- 
sented Philadelphia Co., in which the entire Welsh Tract 
was then located, nor in 1690, but in other years there was 
always found some Welsh Friend willing to sacrifice some of 
his time for the public good, and sit in the general assembly. 

The early Welsh Friends seem to have been soon inter- 
ested in education, as among the petitioners for a charter 
for the first Friends' Public School, in Philadelphia in 1697, 

[317] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

which was a Latin and grammar school in 1689, were David - 
Lloyd and John Jones. In his final patent for this school, 
dated 29 Nov. 1711, Penn nominated as overseers of the 
public school, among others, Griffith Owen and Rowland 
Ellis, of Merion. This institution is still maintained, as the 
William Penn Charter School. 

During the "Keith Disturbance," at a general meeting of 
Friends, in Philadelphia to denounce and disown the dis- 
turber, Keith, among the signers of the "Declaration of 
Denial," 20, 4mo. 1692, were the Welshmen from over the 
Schuylkill, Robert Owen, and Hugh Roberts, and in town, 
Thomas Lloyd, and Griffith Owen. Mr. Keith came to Phil- 
adelphia as the first headmaster of the aforementioned Latin 
school. 

Penn in his letters frequently manifested his regard for 
individual Welshmen of Merion, which he did not have for 
the Welsh collectively. For instance, in a long letter dated 
London, 16. Imo. 1684-5, to his Deputy, Thomas Lloyd a 
Merion Welshman, he concluded, "Dearly salute me to dear 
friends, particularly Thomas Ellis, G. Jones, H. Lewis, T. 
Howel, J. B., [John Bevan] and the rest of the Welsh 
Friends, Captain Owen, &c., with their families." 

Oldmixon, writing in 1708, said of the Welsh Tract, " 'Tis 
very populous, and the people are very industrious, by 
which means this country is better cleared than any other 
part of the country. The inhabitants have many fine plan- 
tations ; they are looked upon to be as thriving and wealthy 
as any in the province, and this must always be said of the 
Welsh, that wherever they come, 'tis not their fault if they 
do not live, and live well, too, for they seldom spare for 
labour." 

Since we thus have their own evidence, and that of con- 
temporary writers, there is no occasion for one to draw any 
imaginary picture of the first years here of the Welsh 
Friends; nor to imagine what manner and quality these 
settlers were. As experienced farmers, they were well able 
to take care of their families. The soil was good we know, 

[318] 



SETTLERS' EXPERIENCES 

the seasons in general were not unlike those of Wales, and 
there was nothing to prevent them from exercising their 
industry and ingenuity. That they made no attempt at 
commercial farming, or cultivation of their plantations on 
a scale larger than to supply home necessities, is not sur- 
prising, since the early large landowners here had been 
gentlemen farmers in the old country, and they only re- 
sumed the life here. 

Nor is there evidence there were "country stores" in the 
Welsh Tract till many years after its settlement, so it may 
be presumed the Welsh Quakers did the buying of neces- 
saries they could not raise, or find, at the Philadelphia 
stores. In the years 1700, &c., the largest general store in 
Philadelphia was conducted by William Trent, and his ex- 
tant account books show that the country people brought 
him peltry of all kinds and got in exchange dry goods and 
groceries. Among his Welsh customers, who had accounts 
with him, were Richard Anthony, "John Andrew, ye 
shrieve," (1705), William Bevan, Mary Bevan, his widow, 
Owen Davis, Francis Ellis, Edward Evans, "Evan Evans, 
/ye minister," Thomas Griffith, Thomas Harriss, Thomas 
Howell, "Evan Harry of Morgan," (bought a negro for 
£60, in 1708), John Jones, Sr. and Jr., Nicholas Thomas 
Jones, Griffith, Edward, Samuel, Moses, and Richard Jones, 
David Lloyd, Griffith Owen, "Ro Owen ye ministr," John 
Powell, John Richard, Elizabeth Roberts, "John Thomas, 
ye tailor," Richard and Lewis Thomas, and John Vaughan. 

Some of the household and economic features of the times 
I write of, are not without interest here. While the Welsh 
Friends were "plain people," they liked to have about them, 
and evidently did according to inventories, the best of all 
solid-wood furniture in their houses, modest though these 
were. But, if we could inspect one of the better class of 
these, the things we would not see would impress us more 
than what we did. We would see no carpets, nor rugs ; but 
hardwood floors, holy-stoned, or polished, and nearly always 

[319] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

sanded; the clean creek sand brushed into curious designs 
by the housewife, an artistic labor in which they had great 
pride. We would be pleased to see no wall paper, for the 
walls of rooms would be half, or wholly wainscoted an«l 
panelled and, if in hard wood, waxed and polished in na- 
tural color, but if only in pine wood, then painted white. 
We would also be pleased to see no stoves, only the large 
fire places, with pictured tiles about them. There would be 
a mantle-board, but never a marble mantle. If there was a 
mirror, it was in sections, framed in polished mahogany, or 
in black-painted wood. Of pictures, there were none men- 
tioned in inventories. Of course, we would see the chests, 
the high nests of drawers, the high-boys and the low-boys, 
peculiar to the times, the tall clock, the corner-cupboard, 
the hinged tea-table, the dresser, but no easy chairs would 
greet us; possibly not even the "winsor" ones, but many 
with rush seats, and always high backed, and uncomfort- 
able, companions of the high-backed bench. Candles in 
plain "sticks," never in girandoles, gave the artificial light ; 
but they were dipped candles for ordinary use. At meals, 
if there was silver, it was solid, for plated ware was un- 
known, and the coffee, or tea service was of china, as it was 
considered more elegant. Delft-ware was held in reserve 
for grand occasions, and earthen-ware, and plates and plat- 
ters of pewter, and wooden trenchers, were in ordinary use, 
and it was long subsequent when silver waiters, for serving, 
succeeded wooden trays. There were glasses for wine, but 
not glass tumblers. But different times made different 
ways, and the Welsh Friends followed the fashions, as much 
as their convenience, and the war of the revolution, as did 
the civil war, for us, marked distinct changes in their man- 
ner of living and furnishing, for innovations and luxuries 
invaded their dwellings and habits, and the general primi- 
tiveness, the relative differences, remained about the same 
from Penn's day till after the revolution's influence was 
experienced, just as our customs and needs are changed 
from our ante-bellum days. It is worthy of notice here, 

[320] 



SETTLERS' EXPERIENCES 

however, that the first carpet in Philadelphia was laid, 1750, 
in the city dwelling of the Welsh Friend, Owen Jones. 

It is true that as a class the Indians were peaceable when 
the Welsh removed here, and were not murderers an^ 
scalpers, but yet there were some "bad Indians" then, as 
well as nowadays. There is evidence that some of these 
roamed the forests of Haverford and Radnor, apparently 
on innocent wild game hunting, but, at the same time, were 
frightening the Welsh so they were obliged to complain to 
the Council, for there is a minute 16. mo. 1686 of "The 
Complaint of ye friends Inhabitants of Hertford against the 
Indians, for ye Rapine and Destruction of their Hoggs." 
Thereupon, the Provincial Council ordered that "Ye respec- 
tive Indian kings with all speed" should be summoned to ap- 
pear before it, and "be made to desist" the raids on farm 
live stock. 

During the French and Indian war, some outlying fam- 
ilies, apparently, had to abandon their plantations, and 
come into the more thickly settled part of Merion. For in- 
stance, the following entry of a burial at the Merion Meet- 
ing, 5mo. 4, 1756, "Joseph, son of Joseph Conlin, who left 
their plantation for fear of the Indians." 

In the early books about America we find many state- 
ments that are silly, or amusing, as we may look at them 
from our point of view, and with our experience and knowl- 
edge. For instance, the Rev. John Campanius, a Swedish 
Lutheran minister, who was here for six years, 1641-46, 
and was the first missionary of religion among the Dela- 
ware Indians, took notes from which he hoped to write a 
book, but died in 1683, aged 83 years, without doing so. 
His son, Thomas, who was here when a lad with his father, 
re-wrote his father's notes on America, and added much 
information, and is the one responsible for their exaggera- 
tions, and printed the whole in Swedish, in 1702, the title 
translated being, "Brief description of the Province of New 
Sweden, now Pensylvania." 

[321] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

What is particularly interesting to us, is the information 
recorded of the country about the Falls of the Schuylkill, 
where the minister had been to visit the Indians. He tells 
of the abundance of walnut, chestnut, peach, and mulberry 
trees, of wild plums, wild grapes, and hemp and hops every- 
where. And of that wonderful gourd, "calabash," which, 
when dried hard, is fashioned into dishes and cups, tipped 
with silver, some being so large they hold a gallon. 

But what is recorded of our familiar fire-fly is news in- 
deed. "There is a kind of ily, which the Indians call 'cuo- 
uye,' which in the night gives so strange a light that it is 
sufficient, when a man is travelling, to show him the way, 
one may also write and read the smallest print by the light 
which they give. When the Indians go in the night a hunt- 
ing, they fasten these insects to their hands and feet, by 
which they can see their way as well as in the daytime. 
One night these flies frightened all the soldiers that were 
on guard at Fort Christiana [Wilmington, Del.] ; they 
thought they were enemies advancing towards them with 
lighted matches !" "There is also," about the Falls, "a large 
and terrible serpent, which is called a rattle-snake. It has a 
head like a dog, and can bite off" a man's leg as if cut with an 
axe! * * * These snakes are three yards long, and 
thick as the thickest part of a man's leg." What a life of 
wonder, and anxiety the ladies of Dr. Jones's settlement at 
these Falls must have led ! 

It is a well known fact that the Quakers never proselyte, 
but a few years after the first settlements were made "out 
of town," the Welsh who then removed to Pensylvania were 
generally "Church of England" people, for when the annoy- 
ances ceased in Wales, the well-to-do Friends stopped com- 
ing over. These "Churchmen" from Wales, having acquired 
the habit at home, resumed it here, and made attempts to 
proselyte the Quakers of Radnor, but there is no evidence 
that they made any remarkable headway. 

[322] 



SETTLERS' EXPERIENCES 

William Penn, in his "Agreement" with these later emi- 
grants promised them they should be at liberty to worship 
as they wished, and, if a body of settlers desired a minister, 
they were at liberty, as far as he was concerned, to ask the 
Bishop of London to send them one. The Churchmen in the 
Welsh Tract had been visited by missionary ministers; but 
imagining the influence a regular congregation, and a 
"steeple-house," would have in the community, about a hun- 
dred Welsh Episcopalians, in Radnor, Haverford, and Mer- 
ion, petitioned the Bishop of London for a permanent min- 
ister, one who could speak both Welsh and English, and par- 
ticularly one "who could be sober," "hoping to recover to 
the Church the non-conforming Quakers." 

Their petition was granted, and the congregation was 
united, and the church erected in Radnor, and called St. 
David's. It may have been only a small log building, as the 
present little stone church was not erected till 1717. The 
records of this earliest Episcopalian Church, West of the 
Schuylkill, begin only with the baptism, on 8 June, 1706, of 
Elizabeth, child of Morgan and Elizabeth Hughes, but there 
were regular services held here before this. It is estimated 
that about fifty families attended this church in 1707-8-9, 
but it is not until 1721-2 that there was recorded a list of 
members, when we find that among the communicants were 
Bavid Howell and Evan Harry, the wardens, and Thomas 
Edwards, James Price, Thomas James, David Thomas, 
George Lewis, Francis Lewis, Owen Hugh, Philip David, 
John David, William Owen, Evan Jones, Richard Hughes, 
&c. 

In the "North Wales," or Gwynedd settlement, was an- 
other Church of England congregation, holding services at 
Oxford and Evansburg. The Rev. Evan Evans, of Christ 
Church, in town, included all the little out-of-town churches 
in his parish, and visited them at stated times, holding serv- 
ices and preaching in both Welsh and in English, but the 

[323] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Quakers were not disturbed, and their meetings were held 
regularly in the Welsh Tract proper, at three, or four meet- 
ing houses, and at Plymouth, Oxford, Gwynedd, &c. 

At Gwynedd, where the majority of the early Welsh were 
"Churchmen," and met at the home of Robert Evans, where 
his brother, Cadwalader Evans, 1664-1745, conducted the 
services as lay-reader. The prominent Welsh Quakers in 
that neighborhood at that time were John Hughes, John 
Humphrey, and Thomas Evans. 



[324j 



THE WELSH BARONY 
OF PENSYLVANIA 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS. I. 

Now, as did these Welshmen, we, too, will look back on 
the conditions on which this land, the great Welsh Tract, 
was purchased and seated by them, for we have reviewed 
the reasons for their removal, and see that promises ver- 
bally made by grantor to grantees had no recognition 
subsequently by the proprietary and deputies, since they 
were not "so nominated in the bond." 

That William Penn promised to these Welsh gentlemen, 
his peers, that their individual purchases each should lie in 
one body; that they so understood him; (that these farm 
lands were divided in halves by miles of waste, or sparsely 
settled territory, we have seen) ; that he repudiated his ver- 
bal agreements with them, this we will see. 

That their great, joint tract of land was to be exclusively 
to their use; that it was to be controlled and governed by 
themselves, and through laws of their own enacting; that 
such was their understanding and expectation from 
promises made by Penn; that this claim was ultimately 
denied and refused by him, that we will also see. 

Unfortunately for the Welsh Friends there could be no 
appeal from Penn ; his word in such matters was final. 

When William Penn received from Charles the Second 
the royal charter for the American territory, which his 
father had tried and failed to get, conditions for William's 
success being more favorable, dated at Westminster, 4 
March, 1681, for which William, as his father's heir, had 
petitioned the previous year, in lieu of a debt of £16,000, and 
interest thereon, due his father from the Crown for disburse- 
ments in the Victualling Office, and over which granted 
territory he was constituted "absolute proprietary," captain- 
general, and lord high admiral, with only allegiance to the 

[327] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Crown, and to hold the same forever by fealty only, on a 
trivial, or nominal annual payment, this territory w^as 
erected into a seigniority, and named the Province of 
Pensylvania.* 

But it still continued to be territory of the kingdom, 
and subject to provisions set foi'th in the royal charter, yet 
Penn's power within it was virtually feudal, though subject 
to these limitations, which defined his authority and legal 
status. His province he was to govern by the general laws 
of England; but he could form a constitution for it, with 
such scope he thought necessary for his domain, and enact 
laws for it covering peculiar cases or that were necessary 
under different conditions, with the assent of the freemen 
and land owners, if he saw fit to ask and consider their 
wishes, which did not conflict with those of the kingdom. 
That is, he had full power to form a government to suit his 
ideas. (With his inexperience in such matters, it is not sur- 
prising that when Fletcher superceded Penn as Governor, 
he declared, after investigation, "the constitution of their 
Majesties's government, and that of Mr. Penn are in direct 
opposition, one to the other.") 

Penn in full control was more than "absolute pro- 
prietary," in the sense that every freeholder is, as he 
appointed his courts and officers for the proper government 
of his territory, or province, and was authorized to erect 
counties and townships, incorporate boroughs and towns, 
and establish ports in his province. His deputy, residing in 
the province, ruled in his name the same as the king's lord 
lieutenant, or governor-general, and Penn was virtually his 



*See the Pensylvania Colonial Records, vol. I. for the full text of 
the principal papers relating to the beginning of Pensylvania, 
namely, the Royal Charter of Charles II. to Penn; Penn's "Condi- 
tions and Concessions to Adventurers for Land"; Penn's "Freme of 
Government," for his province, in its several shapes, as he would like 
to have had it, and as he had to have it, in the years 1681, 1683, and 
1696, and the "Laws agreed Upon." Also Pa. Archives, fourth series, 
vol. I. 

[328] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

sovereign, for it was in his name councils and assemblies 
were called and dissolved, and these had no power to initiate 
legislation for his minature kingdom, and existed only to see 
that his laws, his wishes, his whims, were carried out in his 
domain, which he thought to govern from London, as a 
monarch did his outlaying territory, or as his king then 
did Virginia, New York and Georgia. Or as he expressed 
the conditions, "out of my great love and kindness," he had 
granted the people a charter * * * to ratify his bills. 

Penn deriving his authority over his province from the 
Crown, and, fortified by the Royal Charter, ordered his sub- 
jects, the freemen and freeholders, to choose fi'om them- 
selves delegates to an assembly, to make them appear like 
men of affairs; but they were for a time, only by courtesy 
"an advisatory body" to him, and really only voiced the 
wishes of their constituancy, for the province was palatine, 
even regal, in its nature, and William Penn, the Proprietary, 
was the petty king, the sovereign count-palatine of feudal 
times, and he fully expected his dignity would be supported 
by the revenue from rentals, quit-rents, customs, and taxes, 
paid into his treasury, willingly, or if not, forcibly, by his 
subjects, for he is on record under his own hand, that he 
"must be supported in state and proper magnificence," when 
residing in his Province, else he would not live here ! While 
Penn may have been sometimes a good Quaker, he certainly 
"put on airs," and was at first, a stickler for style and pomp 
he supposed due his exalted position as a minor monarch. 
However, Quakers in his domain thought differently, and 
as mild as was the tribute he exacted, arrows, roses, skins, 
grain, shillings, etc., incorporated in his land patents, very 
little was willingly paid him, so he is found everlastingly 
writing that he got no income from his investment, and that 
his speculation, grandly conceived, but poorly considered, 
was his ruination. "Prepare the people," he wrote his agent 
once, "to think of some way to support me. So I may not 
consume all my substance to serve the Province." But when 

[329] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

his "ungrateful assembly" would make no provision for him, 
he wrote in disgust : "I will sell the shirt oif my back before 
I will trouble them any more." His idea, which he backed 
with his fortune, — and lost, be it considered only a chimera, 
was a great "experiment," as he called it, if not a grand 
scheme, and he had all possible liberty from the Crown to 
carry it through, and may be would have done so with con- 
fiding Quakers, in an entirely Quaker colony, but he never 
took into consideration the possibility of a mixed population 
in his province, and that he could not keep it exclusive, or 
have the "Meeting" paramount. 

Some other man, with the backing and freedom he had, 
might have done better, and made the province into a pay- 
ing concern, which was his dream, for, although it may in 
charity be claimed he was "far removed from mercenary 
consideration in founding Pensylvania," yet there are 
many instances to the contrary. "Though I desire to extend 
religious freedom, yet I must have some recompense for my 
trouble" he wrote. But this "province business" was a new 
one, in the way he proposed to carry it through, and he had 
no training to carry through such an undertaking. Other 
American proprietaries did business on different plans not 
better. But the chances against Penn's winning were like 
theirs in a measure, and none won out. Each could lay 
their undoing and loss to different causes. One of Penn's 
was, his humanitarian project in mind, that he carelessly, 
or unwittingly made promises to grantees, that subsequently 
were urged vigorously, and caused his agents much trouble, 
and him nearly the cancellation of his royal grant, which 
he frequently forgot was still in the power of the Crown to 
do under certain circumstances. 

Penn always an idealist, was certainly to be pittied, for 
with all sorts of claims, "trumpt-up" and legal, coming with 
every day, the general and necessary confusion of a new 
settlement, made up of many sorts of settlers and specula- 
tors; defective titles, and lapping grants to be straightened 
out; his money going out in a steady stream, and no cor- 

[330] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

responding in-flow, were a few of the causes of daily occur- 
ence that could have made a less warm hearted and "longer 
headed man" than William Penn "the greatest Englishman 
of his time," break under his responsibility. But if Penn 
had not been so vacillating in his promises, or forgetful of 
them, when not "so nominated in the bond," his Welsh 
grantees would have had a higher opinion of him, or have 
retained their respect for him, and we will see the reasons 
for their loss of faith. Even his agent here had to remind 
him he had better carry out his contracts with the granteeSj 
and avoid further troubles. 

His career has been more studied than any other man 
of his day, and because he was no ordinary man, many of his 
deeds arouse inquiry, therefore, from some points of view, it 
looks as if Penn had particular spite against the Welsh 
Friends, and we can believe this to be a fact from the 
records preserved to us of his treatment of them. His 
unfair treatment of them, and his pretended ignorance of 
verbal promises, till he succeeded in humiliating them, and 
through sundry devices recovered without payment much of 
the lands they purchased or engaged in good faith from him, 
are matters so interwoven that they can hardly be classed 
for separate consideration, so we will only consider the main 
features of what might be called his persecution of or his 
unfair dealing with his Welsh settlers. 

Even though Penn held to the opinion that the Welsh 
purchasers had no privileges different from his other 
grantees, he did not accord them equal rights. Their grant 
was made to them for a valuable and sufficient consideration 
and conditions embodied in the lease and release were satis- 
factory, but this was not all there was to the transaction. 
We have seen they bought in blocks of 5,000 acres, and 
under his plan their property as "first purchasers," was "a 
propriety," subject to a nominal quit- rent, with his free-gift 
deed, given with each such purchase, of a promise of a cer- 
tain amount of extra land in the city liberties, or suburbs, 
and a varied number of lots in the city, and this was a part 

[331] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

of the bargain he made with the Welsh "first purchasers" one 
they could understand very well, as under a gwarthal, it was 
a Welsh custom. 

But Penn tried to annul this gratuity, claiming that 
the Welsh gentlemen who bought in 1681-2, were only 
"trustees," and, although they individually may have 
engaged to take 5,000 each, yet, he learned subsequently, 
they were only agents and trustees for the real buyers, or 
co-partners in the purchase, whose purchases out of these 
"allotments" were at best only a few hundred acres to each, 
therefore, these "trustees" had no claim to gifts of liberty 
lands and city lots, as no one of them bought whole tracts 
of 5,000 acres, there being always two or more concerned in 
*such purchases. There was no appeal. Purchasers held 
immediately of William Penn, not of the king. They had to 
accept the fact that the grant of 40,000 acres was not to one 
man, or to a corporation, but in fee to a number of individ- 
uals, some of whom represented themselves only, while 
others were trustees for themselves and others, as we have 
seen, all by separate deeds of conveyance. This hair-split- 
ting in the case of the Welsh purchasers was more evidence 
of Penn's unfairness to the Welsh Quakers, and they thought 
him diivyneb. 



*It appears from the minutes of the Board of Property (Book G), 
14, 7mo. 1709, the "The Swedes, who presented that abusive Petition 
in the Assembly, concerning their lands, having desired a meeting 
with the Commissioners, divers of them met at the secretary's office, 
and it being demanded what it is they complain off, they Said that the 
Prop'ry, at his first coming Into this Province, Promised them that he 
would be as a Father to Them, and that he Came not to Lessen or 
Take away their Rights, but to confirm Them to them, but that soon 
after he demanded a Sight of all their Pat's, which were delivered to 
him, that these had been detained from them, and that many of them 
had lost a Considerable Patent of the lands they hold of these Pat's 
taken from them. & that they were obliged To Pay for the Lands they 
held Greater Q't Rent than they had formerly Paid, which they Con- 
ceived to be greatly to their Wro'ng". 

[332] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

In another way Penn showed unfair treatment of the 
Friends from Wales when he exacted more quit-rent from 
them than he was justified either by his agreement with 
them, or by the terms of his deeds to them.* The title to 
the land were not alloidial, for the land was held of Penn 
by socage tenure, or payment of quit-rent annually, which 
was a well known fact. 

But Penn raised the question inadvertently, particu- 
larly with the Welsh Friends, when he was hard pushed for 
cash, years after they were settled in their new homes, as 
to when the payment of quit-rent should begin. He insisted 
it should start from the date of the original grant, to enlarge 
his revenue, but it was evident to the grantees that the pay- 
ment was due only after full and legal possession of pur- 
chases was had, which could not be till after the final 
survey of the land, confirmation of title, and receiving of 
the deed, and this was a matter of several years difference, 
and, of course, larger payment. 

Penn had decided the first surveys were only prima- 
tive ; made only to approximate the locality and extent of the 
purchases, and that the final surveys, which he ordered, 
when he suspected there was much overplus land, (which he 
took to himself, and sold at great advantage, for prices had 
advanced because of the settlement and improvement of 
the "country lots"), constituted the completion of the titles. 
That is, he would have it supposed that he ordered the final 
survey only to perfect the title, when, in fact, he made the 
order only to gather to himself the excess land, which he 
was entitled to. 

But this subterfuge re-acted on him, for when the quit- 
rent question came up, the Welsh, who had by this time 
considerable "inward light" on such matters, reminded him 
of his former decision, and held that not till the "final sur- 
vey" was made did they have legal possession of the lands 



*See Reed's "Ekplanation of the City and Liberties," also Shep- 
herd's "Proprietory Government in Pensylvania." 

[333] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

standing in their names, and from that date the assessment 
and payment of quit-rent should begin. However, they had 
to pay from the time of the date of the grant, for the "law," 
that is Mr. Penn, so decided, for he held it was a matter 
of indifference to him whether they paid from the date of a 
grant and called it quit-rent, or paid him ordinary rental 
of his land, the overplus they used, from the date of the 
grant up to the time of the "final survey," and then com- 
menced paying quit-rent on their holdings. Being Quakers, 
there were no suits at law in this matter, and there could 
be no appeal, for Penn's word was the last. 

Still another example of Penn's unfair dealing with the 
Welsh Friends was when he made the date of the original, 
the approximating survey, as the date to reckon from when 
he enforced his "Condition" that "in three years" the pur- 
chaser must seat his land, otherwise, Penn could confiscate 
it, and sell it again. He made the concession; the then 
holding grantee, however, should have the refusal of it for 
a "short time," to arrange to buy it over! This rule was 
particularly aimed at the Welsh Tract land holders. 

His "condition," to which many Welsh gentlemen sub- 
scribed, 11 July, 1681, was that "a family must be seated 
in three years," in each purchase of 1,000 acres in the 
"country lots." This was when he verbally declared to 
his interviewers from Wales, that no one could purchase 
more than 1,000 acres, excepting under this condition, and 
with this understanding. 

The question was raised by the Welsh Friends, when 
Penn notified them of his intention of enforcing this par- 
ticular "condition," as to when it was proper to begin to 
reckon the "three years" time. Penn ruled, as in the quit- 
rent case, "the three years must be reconned from the time 
of the survey." 

"Which survey?" the Welsh inquired, for there had 
already been several, one of which was the "final survey," 

[334] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

"certainly not the first one, nor the second, Friend William, 
for thee declared the 'final survey' was the only legal one, 
and we think the three years previlege should be reckoned 
from the date of it." 

"From the first and original one," was Penn's laconic 
reply. 

As in the previous instance of the arbitrariness of Penn, 
there could be no appeal from his last word in this matter, 
so the Welsh had to hustle for tenants, or lose their pur- 
chases, which had increased much in value, for we have 
learned from John Jones' letter that "there was no land to 
be bought [in 1685] within twelve miles of the city," and 
Dr. Edward Jones, in 1682, wrote that there was "a crowd 
of people [in Philadelphia] striving for ye Country land." 

Another grievance the Welsh Friends felt was theirs, a 
thing much to their chagrin; but not pecuniary loss, how- 
ever; was when Penn divided the great Welsh Tract into 
three parts, or the townships of Merion, Haverford, and 
Radnor, and subsequently erected others. \ 

Penn cextainly had authority, under the Royal Charter, 
to erect townships by patents, describing the bounds, num- 
ber of acres in each, locations, and names, which should 
be recorded, (which, however, was never done) , and grant 
power to the inhabitants of each "to chuse anealy a Con- 
stable, Overseer of ye Poor, and Overseer of ye highways 
for the Township." It seems the Welsh were not allowed 
"to chuse anealy" their township ofl[icers, which was their 
right, as they understood it, as they were appointed by the 
County Court. 

In this connection, it is of interest to hear what Penn 
wrote "at Worminghurst Place, 12. lOmo. 1685," in his 
"Further Account" of his sumoirous province. "Our Town- 
ships lie Square, generally the Village in the center; the 
Houses either opposit, or else opposit to the middle, betwixt 
two Houses over the way, for near neighborhood. We have 
another Method, that tho the Village be in the Center, yet 

[335] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

after a different manner ; 500 acres are allotted for the Vil- 
lage, which, among ten families, comes to 50 acres each. 
This lies square, and on the outside of the Square stand the 
Houses, with them 50 acres running back, where, ends 
meeting, make the center of the 500 acres as they are to 
the whole. Before the Doors of the Houses lies the High- 
way, and across it, every man's 450 acres of land, that 
makes up his complement of 500, so that the Conveniency of 
Neighborhood is made agreeable with that of the Land. 1 
said nothing in my last of any number of Townships, but 
there are at least 50, settled before my leaving those parts, 
vi^hich was in the Moneth called August, 1684. I visited 
many of them." "We do settle in the way of Townships, or 
Villages," he also wrote, at another time, "each of which 
contains 5,000 acres, in Square, and at least Ten Families; 
the regulation of the Country being a Family to each 500 
acres. Some Townships have more." 

But Robert Turner, in a letter from Philadelphia, 3. 6mo. 
1685, to Penn, to be sent out as an advertising circular of 
the Province, to influence sales of land, was even more 
"enthusiastic" than Penn, when he wrote, "As to the Coun- 
try, the Improvements are Large, and settlements very 
Throng by the way of Townships and Villages"! Most of 
Penn's "Further Account" of his Utopia we know was "a 
pipe dream." There is no question but that his idea was to 
have townships of 5,000 (or 10,000) acres extent, with a 
village in the middle, and five (or ten) families at least, in 
each township. But when he wrote the "glowing account" 
above, there were few families in any township, and these, 
with the exception of in Merion, (and there the Thomas & 
Jones party had settled in one corner, and although this 
township had the largest number of settlers in 1685, it was 
very far from being "throng"), were seated so scatteringly 
through any 5,000 acre tract, that a whole township was 
long called a "town," as much for this reason as for 
abbreviation. 

[336] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

The Welsh Friends contended that it was agreed their 
40,000 acres of land would lie in one undivided tract, or 
"town," and not be cut up into sections ; but, if now there 
must be townships in the Province, their tract should be 
only one township, in conformity with the desire which they 
had expressed, and Penn had agreed to, and that they alone 
should have the right "to chuse" its officers, and from among 
themselves, as was also promised, and to expend within it 
the local taxes collected. 

But this municipal district plan did not suit Penn, so the 
Welsh Tract was arbitrarily divided into three townships, 
and his Council appointed the first officers, and tried to 
collect the tithes, and thus the Welshmen were not allowed 
to have and support their own government within their 
territory. However, the Welsh continued to exercise some 
civil authority through their m.onthly meeting, and held 
"town meetings" among themselves at the several Friends' 
Meeting houses, to regulate certain matters of their 
"towns" which they did not wish to take into court. But of 
this further. This solid township idea is what has come 
to be known as the "Welsh Barony." 

When you come to review the "Welsh idea," you may note 
that whatever the Welsh, when purchasing, wanted, Penn 
promised, and that they realized only disappointments out 
of their expectations. (And this was the experience of the 
Germans, too.) Their hopes for a township, or a "barony," 
in one tract, for themselves alone, their tract to be separate 
and distinct from every county, to have courts and magis- 
trates of their own, for there is the testimony of one Welsh- 
man, that when they called upon Penn in London, they 
"asked that in our tract, within which all causes, quarrels, 
crimes, and disputes [arose], might be tried and wholly 
determined by officers. Magistrates, and Juries of our own 
language";* its inhabitants not to do jury duty outside 

*If the Welsh Friends had enforced some of the old laws peculiar 
to themselves in their State, there certainly would have been trouble, 
but probably no more than we are now experiencing in our "united" 

[337] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

of the "Welsh Town," which should be represented as a 
"barony" in the Provincial Council, and in the Provincial 
Assembly, by men of their own selection from among them- 
selves, although they claimed to have their own Assembly 
in their Monthly Meeting, to pay taxes raised only for the 
use of their Towns, they had reason to expect to enjoy, for 
they heard the "Great Man" promise, and for these, and 
other conditions, they often petitioned for confirmation. 

Because there was no deed from Penn to the Welsh cover- 
ing a solid tract of 40,000 acres of Pensylvania land, he, 
and his agents, took advantage of this oversight, and champ- 
ions of Penn have claimed there was no authority for sup- 
posing the several grants should be laid in one body. Yetj 
there is Penn's personal instruction to his surveyor-general, 

States where each has laws of its own choosing, especially in marital 
matters. The Welsh would have had the wife's dower {agtveddi, or 
gwaddol) , or marriage portion, remain her property, but would have 
"compensated" the husband by having the bride's father pay him the 
"maiden fee," {amobr or gobr merch) , if she married by his consent. 
But not to be excelled in courtesy, the bridegroom would pay the 
father something, generally live stock, for the "loss" of his daughter's 
services in his household. And then further, on the morning after 
the marriage, "if the bride proved to be what he had a right to 
expect," the groom presented her with cowyll, a gift of money for her 
own use; but this only once, and this was her cyvarivys, or per- 
quisite. And if the Welsh Tract, or cymwd, had really been as they 
hoped, that is a gwlad, and held by the Friends organized into a 
polity, their Welsh "la'nd laws" would have conflicted with Penn's. 
No ebediw, nor gobr estyn, no inheritance tax, nor investure fee would 
have been paid, providing all the land had been paid for by the 
decedent. Then there were peculiar "regulations" as to gorvedog, and 
mach, or bail bonds, and security for debt. But it is not clear how 
their law of viarivdy, would work, for by it a house and contents 
"reverted to the lord" when the owner died intestate. Possibly Penn, 
as the penvaeth, or petty king, would have claimed it. But their laws 
as to trevtad, or patrimony, land, cattle, crops, etc., would certainly 
have made this "State" singular. The law as to horse trading was 
certainly peculiar; "Whom shall sell a horse or a mare let him be 
anserable for inward disorders, to-wit, 3 mornings for the staggers, 
and S months for the glanders, and a year for the farcy. Let the 
person who shall buy it look to an outside blemish." 

[338] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

in his warrant of survey, instructing him to do the very 
thing the Welsh claimed, and confirming v^^hat the Welsh 
said they understood him to promise them, and this war- 
rant was issued but a short time after the date of their 
purchases, when the conversation could have been fresh in 
Fenn's recollection. Certainly, it was before he began to 
be unfair to his Welsh friends. But a stronger argument 
for unity of the Welsh Tract, and the larger purchasers 
in it, may be seen in the "condition" of 11 July, 1681, under 
which he sold to them: "That whenever any number of 
purchasers, whose acres amount to 5,000 acres, desire to sit 
together in a township, they shall have their township cast 
together." However, it was not that the tract was inter- 
sected by other tracts, or that part of a Welshman's farm 
was in one place, and miles off there was some more of it, 
for it really lay contiguously, and the complaint of the 
Welsh was that it was subsequently made to lay part in one 
county and part in another, so, as far as the unity of the 
tract was concerned the county line might as well have 
been a many mile wide strip. 

Their complaint of "division" also concerned another case 
within the greater one, but there was nothing to substan- 
tiate it, unless Penn's "conditions" of 11 July 1681, covers 
the case, and in part it does. This was the splitting up of 
the grants of 5,000, 3,000, and 1,000 acres of land, as we 
have seen was the case, for nearly all the Welsh Tract 
parcels, bought from the "trustees," were laid out part in 
one township, and the balance in a distant one, although 
within the Welsh Tract. And this affected not only the 
large tracts, but the small purchasers, for we have seen 150 
acre lots, half, the maenor, in Merion, and half in Goshen. 
The evidence seems to be against any cause for supposing 
that the grants to the trustees, or companies, should lay con- 
tiguously. The deeds to them all read the same, differing 
of course as to names and acreage, saying "the full quantity 
of Five Thousand Acres to be allotted and set out in such 
places, or parts of the said province," etc., as had been or 

[339] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

may be agreed upon. There appeared to be no guarantee 
that the trustees's tracts should be located in one place. This 
the Welsh overlooked to have in the deeds, never imagin- 
ing a purchase, or a cantrev, vi^ould not be all together. 

But Penn was particular to have his own 10,000 acre 
tracts, which he resented out of each 100,000 aci'e lot he 
sold, lie contiguously. This was the plan of "tenths" which 
he introduced into West Jersey, when he was managing the 
Byllyngs domain, which, by the way, was not an humani- 
tarian venture, though the sales were at first made to 
Quakers almost exclusively, and led up to Penn's personal 
"holy experiment." 

There seems always, and particularly so in recent years, 
to have been considerable misconception about the Welsh 
Tract having been erected by Penn into a "barony," with 
all the honors and power pertaining to such a state. 

Just as had William Alexander, the poet and court 
favorite, in Nova Scotia, the proprietors of Maryland, and 
of Carolina had authority to create a nobility, and the latter 
only used it. But Penn overlooked, or missed such a con- 
cession, or, more likely, he never insisted upon it, for he 
knew it would not be to the taste of the plain people of his 
faith, to whom he hoped to sell his land. So, he missed 
of his own accord being "the fountain of honour, as well 
as the source of office," yet he was the seignior, with a 
court, administering and dispencing justice in his name. 

Penn, presumably, had no authority given him to create a 
baronage, and consequently to erect a barony of any degree 
in his domain, (yet he conferred on a Scotchman the "bar- 
ony of Inverie," in 1685), or to establish a semblance of 
an order of nobility. This only king and parliament could 
do, after he got his charter, and there was no suggestion 
that such would ever be their intention, or to delegate power 
to him, a dependent, to create a nobility, which would be 
feudatory to the Crown only through him, for this would 
have been what a baronage then meant, whether in Pen- 
sylvania, or England. 

[340] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

Even his 10,000 acre reservations though called manors 
were never such, for this was only their courtesy title. 

Penn's instructions to his surveyors-general to lay out the 
40,000 acres of land, (they took altogether 50,000 acres), 
which the Welsh Friends purchased, "as in a barony," was 
only a "figure of speech" so far as the tract was concerned. 
He employed the same expression in the same sense when 
formulating his assembly; "one representative from each 
purchase of a 5,000 acre baronage." That is, as to the 
Welsh Tract, he desired it laid out in a barony-like tract; 
"may be lay'd out contiguously as [like] one Barony," was 
the v/ording of his instruction. He meant all of the pur- 
chases of the seven, or more, Welsh "companies" should 
lie contiguous, in one body, a large sweep of land, or "broad 
lands," and this did not even suggest that the purchases 
lying contiguously should be a parish, or a precinct, but 
only "as one Barony." Penn owned property in Ireland, 
and had been there, and was probably familiar with the 
scheme of the plantation of Ulster, and with King James' 
"Orders and Conditions to be observed by the Undertakers 
upon the Distribution and Plantation of the Escheated 
Lands of Ulster," (these Orders, and the "Concessions and 
Agreements of the Proprietors of West Jersey," 1675-6, 
Penn must have consulted when he wrote his own "Con- 
ditions and Concessions to Adventurers for Land," as he 
copied their ideas, and expressions some places) , v/hich 
instructed that the ten "townlands" of 5,000 acres each 
should constitute a barony, and this term is still used in 
Ireland for every ten townships lying contiguously, or a 
precinct of 50,000 acres in size, which v/as the acreage of 
the Welsh Tract. 

I don't think the Welsh Friends, the pioneers, had any 
notion that Penn meant their tract of land should be "a 
real barony," under ancient conditions, as has often been 
claimed. All they were interested in was having their pur- 
chases "lie contiguously as in a barony," or whatever such 
a whole tract of land may be termed, and that Penn should 

[341] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

keep his promises to them, especially as to the entire con- 
trol and management of it through their meetings, or their 
monthly meeting. 

And I do think that the "true barony" idea originated in 
the fertile imagination of some zealous, enthusiastic modern 
descendants of the Welsh Quaker pioneers. They imagined 
that the "barony" carried with it the feudatory right to sit 
in Parliament, overlooking the fact that the dignity of a 
baron, a lord of Parliament, was then, as now, a personal 
matter; not a territorial adjunct, but an honor conferred 
by the king and confirmed by a writ of summons to 
Parliament. 

A "true barony," the descendants' idea, I can imagine 
would have been an ineptly bestowed concession, if the 
ancient custom had obtained, and Penn had power to 
inaugurate it. Who am.ong the Welsh Quakers can you 
imagine would have been the Welsh peer who would sit 
in Parliament? Who would issue the fee simple grants 
within the Welsh barony? From whom would have been 
held the land if at that time a baronage had been a 
territorial dignity? Whoever he would have been, who 
would have selected him? 

The nearest, the final, or acceptable Royal Charter came 
to giving Penn power to erect a dignity resembling a baron- 
age was where it gave him a baron's power to erect manors 
in his province,, with all the authority peculiar to them, 
namely court-baron, "to hold view of frank pledge for the 
conservance of the peace," "to be fully exercised by the lords 
of the manors for the time being." Such manors may have 
been "a feudatory of the prince," for Penn at first had the 
authority of a petty king, but it did not carry with it the 
right of the manor-holder to sit in Parliament as a baron, 
though he was the "lord of the manor for the time being." 
His Royal Charter also gave Penn's grantees "power to 
erect any parcels of land within the province into manors," 
"and in every such manor to have and to hold a court-baron, 
with all things whatsover which to a court-baron do belong." 

[342] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

Sydney George Fisher, writing of these times in Pen- 
sylvania, has a view of them that is hardly justified by the 
facts. He said, Penn "had promised them [the Welsh 
Quakers] a tract of 40,000 acres, where they would have a 
little government of their own, and live by themselves." 
"They insisted that their 40,000 acres constituted a barony, 
or county palatine, and it was known as the Welsh Barony 
until modern times changed it to Welsh Tract." "It was 
a manor, with the right of court-baron, like the one occu- 
pied by the Moravians on the Lehigh, and, if circumstances 
had been favorable, it could easily have been developed into 
a sort of a palatine." The Moravian "barony," was only a 
reservation, within one of Penn's "manors, and baronial 
rights, if any ever existed, were never exercised." A better 
suggestion of Penn's elastic grants was the one to Eneas 
Macpherson, a Scotchman of course, in 1685. Though it 
was similar in conditions to the grants to the Welsh "first 
purchasers," it was manorial, since it gave Mr. Macpherson 
power to erect his 5,000 acre lot "into the barony of Inve- 
rie," with privilege of court-leet, court-baron, &c. He fur- 
ther directed his Land Commissioners to grant large tracts 
of land with the same conditions, but, somehow they over- 
looked this order, which was very careless of them. This 
idea of manors, with court-baron, and even the Board of 
Land Commissioners, was the same King James employed 
when dealing with the undertakers for Ulster. 

Penn knew better than to experiment with a petty nobil- 
ity in his refuge for Quakers, and, as said above, he con- 
sidered his manors were simply divisions of his territory 
for his own convenience. That is, his own manors were the 
lands kept in his own hands, for his personal use, or that 
of his family, and the "lord" of such manors, was simply 
his steward, appointed, or removed by him, at will. 

But it was not Penn's fault that there was not the order 
of nobility in Pensylvania. Although not himself of the 
nobility he was an aristocrat, and so were some who assisted 
him in framing his government. But others, not living in 

[343] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

aristocratic atmosphere, advised him, if he wished to realize 
on his land, and interest the "plain people" in it, he should 
change his "Frame," and eliminate the nobility idea from it. 

We have seen that one of his schemes was to sell land in 
lots of 5,000 acres, with the "patroon idea" of settlement. 
This idea he held on to when he early planned the "Parlia- 
ment" for his Province. He wanted a "House of Lords," 
composed of owners of 5,000 acre tracts of land, and a 
"Lower House," made up of their tenants. That is, the 
Upper House of Parliament, or House of Lords, should be 
composed of fifty "barons" ; and to be eligible to it, or to be 
a baron, one must be a married man and own 5,000 acres, 
or "a propriety." The right to sit as a "baron" was to 
descend from heir to heir, so long as the "baronj''" was not 
reduced below 2,000 acres, in such a case the "baronage" 
should cease. This was a great advertising card for Pen- 
sylvania if Penn had not been argued out of distributing it. 
It seemed such a good thing to him, that another draft of the 
same "Frame" makes the number of "barons" 100. The 
"lords and tenants" were to be organized into standing com- 
mittees, with, of course, the "Lords" in the majority, which 
should attend to all matters of "church and State." 

In Penn's draft of the charter, the one he would have liked 
the king to grant, but which was discarded, he mapped out 
for himself extraordinary powers. He was to have the usual 
and magnificent powers of a count-palatine of feudal times, 
or an independent principality, with homage and fealty only 
to the king. It gave him powers to coin money, confer titles 
receive and spend all the revenue, control all the courts, etc., 
and be dictator in everything within his domain. The con- 
ferred royal charter was very much modified, probably to 
Penn's chagrin. 

It cannot be denied that from the first the Welsh 
Friends had large ideas about the status of their tract, or 
"towns," for all along there are suggestions that they pre- 
sumed on what might be considered manorial, or baronial 
rights and privileges within their tract, and attempted to 

[344] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

enjoy them. Their chief offense in this respect against the 
supreme authority of the proprietary was the use, if not 
organization of the monthly meeting into an alleged local 
court, to settle disputes arising in the tract, generally civil 
disputes arising among themselves, but probably not crim- 
inal cases, and there is suggestion that "taxes" were levied 
within their bounds for the use of the community, through 
the monthly meeting. And further, that they claimed that 
their "towns" should have delegates of their own selecting 
sit in the general assembly, and, if possible, one member 
from the ti'act in the provincial council. The "Welsh idea" 
of a tract exclusive to themselves, be it a barony, manor, or 
state, within Penn's province, may have been crude and 
impracticable, but certainly, if we are to believe Hugh 
Roberts, they originally had some encouragement from Penn 
in the matter of self-government, or that he held out some 
such inducement when effecting the sale of the land, and 
without actually committing himself to the scheme by sign- 
ing any agreement to this effect. Penn himself did create 
one barony, or manor, we know, and did instruct his com- 
missioners to do the same for him, so I do not doubt but that 
he made the promises to the Welsh Friends, which they 
claimed he did as late as in 1688-89. 

Pastorius, the German scholar, who bought 15,000 acres 
of Penn, in London, on 5 June, 1683, for himself, and "an 
aggregation of individuals," all Germans, known as the 
Frankfort Company, came over to Philadelphia, arriving 
20 Aug., 1683. It seems they experienced almost the identi- 
cal troubles the Welsh Friends had about lands, and con- 
cessions. His letters tell of the difficulty he had to get the 
land located and surveyed, after he had paid for it, and 
William Penn, "of his princely bounty," had granted it, and 
how he had to be satisfied with any location for the pur- 
chase the surveyor would give him, which we know was out 
on the hills of the present Germantown, across from the 
"Welsh Town." Pastorius may have supposed he should 
have had better treatment from Friend Penn, because Penn 

[345] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

was part Dutch himself, his mother "Dutch Peg," (as Pepys 
called her) , having been a Dutchwoman, and Penn spoke the 
Teutonic language well enough to express himself in both 
Dutch and German, and preached in both lands. 

A minute of the Provincial Council, 5. Imo., 1700-1, re- 
cords that Pastorius presented a petition in behalf of the 
German corporation, "setting forth, That by the Proprie- 
taries advice and Directions, they had seated themselves so 
close together that they Scarce have room to live. But 
Especially, That the Propriet'ry by his Charter in the Year 
1689, had granted Several Considerable Privileges to the 
Germans of the Said Town by making them A Corporation 
by virtue of which they looked upon themselves exempt from 
the Jurisdiction of ye County Court of Philad'ia, and from 
all Taxes & Levies of the Same, having a Court of Record 
& Magistrates within themselves, and Defraying all the 
Public Charges of their Said Town & Corporation without 
any Assistance from the rest of the County. Therefore, they 
requested to be exempt from general County levies. A copy 
of their Charter being produced. It appeared by it that they 
had full Power of holding Court of Recording, and of trying 
Cases Judicially within themselves, but had no other grant 
for Representatives to Sitt in Assembly, than what ye rest 
of the County had." Several reasons were advanced why 
they should not share and contribute to the Philadelphia 
county taxes, one being that the roads and bridges the 
county maintained near their bounds, were enjoyed more by 
them than any people, and therefore they should help pay 
for them. On the contrary, they replied this was offset by 
keeping at their own charge the roads and bridges within 
their bounds, which were used by the whole country. From 
this it may be seen that not only the Welsh experienced 
Penn's capriciousness.* 

*Even the beneficiaries under his will of his old friend, the noted 
apostle of Quakerism, George Fox, had an unpleasant experience 
with Mr. Penn. By deed of lease and release, dated 21 and 22 Oct. 
1681 (which was not recorded till 21 April, 1767), George Fox bought 

[346] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

It may have been for this reason that some of the leading 
English Quakers considered the Germans, as new settlers, 
were not acceptable. In 1717, Judge James Logan com- 
plained of "the great number of palatines pouring in upon 
us, without any recommendation, which gives our country 
some uneasiness, for foreigners do not so well among us as 
our own people." 

This German community kept together till about the year 
1707, not so long as the Welsh one, and the cause of dis- 
integration in both "towns," or settlements was the same, 
for the Germans, like the Welsh, presumed on too much, 
when they supposed they were to live by themselves, have 
a government of their own, under laws they had been 
accustomed to, and in their own tongue, and be represented 
in the general assembly of the province as a distinct "Ger- 
man State," for Pastorius, their leader and "Moses," says 

from Penn 1250 acres of land, to help along his "experiment," paying 
£25, for which amount Penn gave him a receipt, witnessed by Harb't 
Springette, The Coke, and Mark Swaner. Fox was, as bonus, to 
have a city lot of twenty acres, or if he preferred, 16 acres of Liberty 
Land among the Welsh Friends, and two good city lots, and to pay 
one shilling per 100 acres in ground rent. Fox died in 1690, without 
having had his patent recorded, but he devised the "city lots" for 
the use of Phila. Friends, and this gift was confirmed to Friends 
Carpenter, Hill and Morris, as trustees, by patent dated 26. 6mo. 
1705. The remainder of his right, Mr. Fox devised to his wife's sons- 
in-law, Thomas Lower, John Rouse, and Daniel Abraham. Said 
Abraham, and Nathaniel Rouse, son and heir to John, by deed dated 
21. 4mo. 1715, for £8, released their interest in Fox's lands to Mr. 
Lower, who requested warrant to lay it out, which was granted, 22. 
9mo. 1717. The above trustees had Fox's city lots, ' for the use of 
Friends located at the corner of High and 2d Streets, and on this 
property a meeting house was erected in 1695-6. This "annoyed" 
Penn greatly (see the Penn-Loga'n Correspondence, letters of Oct. 
1703, and Sep. 1705), as he claimed these were lots he wished to 
reserve for his family, and that Markham had given them away 
without his permission. This, too, was a reflection on the trustees, 
but as they had had other similar experiences vidth the Founder, they 
let him fume, and did not surrender the lots, but had them conflrmeS 
to them as above. 

[347] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

(just as the Friends minister, Hugh Roberts, also said) , he 
so understood Mr. Penn promised him at the time he bought 
and paid for the land, when, "not respecting his own profit, 
but the welfare" of the Germans, he was "graciously pleased 
to distribute" the lands of his province "to them as shall 
seek the same." As late as in llmo., 1693-4, these Germans, 
like the Welsh, wanted to know if their grant, or charter, 
did not exempt their "town" from paying two sets of taxes, 
their own, and to Philadelphia County. 

Penn evidently made some promises, possibly "with a 
mental reservation" not to keep them if they did not suit 
Mm ultimately. Therefore, it is not surprising that we do 
find him "changing his mind" about having independent 
states within his province. Once, he might have supposed 
this plan practicable, but, as he wrote in his "Frame of 
Government" (1682), a most wonderful document, even if 
compiled from the ideas of previous promotors, but it had 
defects, yet it has "excited the enconiums of many histor- 
ians," "I do not find a model in the world that time, place, 
and some singular emergencies have not necessarily 
altered," so changed his mind. It is history that nearly 
every one of his ideas of government, on trial, turned out 
dreams, and failures, and were easily replaced by the care- 
fully thought-out Charter of Privileges, in 1701. The prac- 
tical men on the ground rather than Penn, the almost 
stranger, knew what the province required. 

Penn was not only vacillating in the manner of disposing 
of his land, and promises made concerning it, for at the 
very first, he had no fixed rule for either mode, or extent 
of his grants ; they wei'e in consequence of an irregular, and 
informal nature, but even in the little matter of selling 
"whiskey," or intoxicating liquor to Indians. 

At a meeting of the Provincial Council, 21. Imc, 1683-4, 
at which he presided, it was left to him "to discourse with 
the Indians concerning an agreement with them about let- 
ting them have Rum." On 10. 3m. following, Penn in per- 
son informed the Council that he "had called the Indians 

[348] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

together, and proposed to them to let them have Rum, if 
they would be contented to be punished as ye English were 
[when they became noisy-drunk], which they did agree to, 
provided that ye law of not Selling them Rum be abolished," 
which we all know was a distinct departure from Penn's 
original ideas as to rum for Indians. 

Less than three j^ears after the successful settlement of 
the great "¥/elsh Tract," the English of the province be- 
came jealous of its advancement, and started in to wreck 
it. Their procedure was not systematic, but in point of 
date, the matter of having a new boundary line for Chester 
county, particularly between the counties of Philadelphia 
and Chester, that would be directed so as to place the 
"towns" of Haverford and Radnor within the county of 
Chester, when a big slice would be cut off from the tract, 
was the first move, in 1685, and deserves first considera- 
tion. Upon this first occasion, the Chester people were not 
so much vexed over the irregular and uncertain bounds of 
their county, as they were concerned in extending their ter- 
ritory, and increasing their tax list, and consequently, 
revenue. 

From Minutes of the Provincial Executive Council, 1. 
2mo., 1685. Thomas Holme (or Holmes), the surveyor gen- 
eral, acting president, and present, the following matter 
was introduced : 

"Whereas, The Gov'r in psence of John Symcock and 
William Wood, was pleased to Say & grant, That ye bounds 
of the Countys of Chester & Philadelphia should be as fol- 
lowed, Viz't: — 

"That the bounds should bigin at the Mill Creek ["Darby 
Mill Creek," or Cobbs' Creek], and Sloping to ye Welch 
Township, and thence to Scoolekill, &c., in obedience thereto 
and Confinnation thereof, 

"The Council having Seriously Weyed & Considered the 
same, have and doe hereby Agree and Order that ye bounds 
betwixt the said Countys shall be thus ; That is to Say, 'them 

[349] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

follows the description of the lines proposed for Chester 
County laid down so as to take into it the Welsh town- 
ships of Harford and Radnor,' mentioning in the courses 
'the land of Andros Boone & Co.,' the 'Severall Tracts of 
Land belonging to the Welch & Other Inhabitance,' 'Land 
belonging to Jno Humpheris,' and 'land of Jno Ekley.'* 

"The Question was put, whether the afore mentioned 
Creeks, Courses, and Lines, shall be the bounds betwixt the 
Countys of Philadelphia & Chester, according to ye Gov'rs 
grant as aforesaid; Unanimous Carried in ye Affirmative." 

No Vv'elsh Quaker was a member of the Provincial Coun- 
cil at this time. No notice, or warning was sent to the 
Welsh that question of throwing their "towns" of Haver- 
ford and Radnor out of the Welsh Tract, and Philadelphia 
county, into Chester county, was sent to their leading men. 
The Irishman, Mr. Holme, was presiding that day over the 
meeting during the absence in New York of Thomas Lloyd,t 
and advantage of this was taken by the Chester members, 
as it was well known that Mr. Lloyd did not favor this trans- 
ference. Symcock and Wood, who brought up this matter 
at the meeting, represented Chester county,, and it was 
upon their statements that the matter was considered, and 
there thus could never have been a more favorable chance 



*By deed dated 30 Oct. 1682, Edward Prichard, of Almeley, Here- 
ford, glover, for £25, sold 1250 acres, a part of his 2500 acres in the 
Welsh Tract, to John Eckley, of Kimbolton parish, Herefordshire, 
yeoman. Prichard also sold 312 acres, for £6.5.0. to John Vaston, of 
Docklow parish, Hereford, yeoman, and 312 acres to Elizabeth Good, 
of Kimbolton parish. Both deeds dated 1 Nov. 1682. 



tThere is a letter from Mr. Lloyd, preserved by the Pa. Historical 
Society, written in New York about this time. And there is one from 
Penn to Lloyd, dated London, 21. 2mo. 1686, saying, "Thyn from N. 
York of Novemb'r last is come to my hand." Lloyd apparently in- 
tended to desert Pensylvania and take up his residence in New York, 
for Penn wrote at this time, "Since the Lord has cast thy lott else 
■where, I am glad thou affordest the Province thy presence Some 
times." 

[350] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

to introduce it, and have it acted on to satisfy their con- 
stituents of Chester. 

However, although the resolution had been properly 
passed in the Executive Council, it could not become opera- 
tive until it had the sanction of William Penn, or of his 
deputy governor, and Mr. Holme would not presume on 
using all the power of the latter entrusted to him. There- 
fore, at the next meeting of the Council, a week later, or on 
8. 2mo., 1685-6, the subject was again introduced by the 
Chester membei's, who urged the acting president to for- 
ward the resolution to Mr. Penn, to get him to ratify it, 
owing to the continued absence of President Lloyd. 

But by this time, the scheming of the Chester county 
people had become known to the Welsh Quakers across the 
Schuylkill, and they did considerable lobbying and wire- 
pulling, as their efforts against the proposition would be 
known to us, and through their influence it was decided by 
the Council that the bounds of all the counties should be 
adjusted and determined, for the purpose of properly col- 
lecting taxes, and defining sheriffs' jurisdictions, before 
sending the resolution as to the Chester line to Penn, and 
when all the counties had been bounded to send the descrip- 
tions together to him. It was decided to consider the bounds 
of Bucks county at the next meeting, and, in due time, the 
bounds were considered, and laid down, but no other county 
was reached before adjournment, which was just what the 
Welsh hoped would happen. At the next meeting, Mr. 
Lloyd presided, and for reasons of his own the matter of 
county boundaries was dropped. Whatever was the nature 
of Mr. Lloyd's influence over the Council and with Penn, 
it must have been sti'ong, for the Chester line matter lay 
dormant for three years, although the resolution passed on 
the 1st of 2mo., had been sent by Holme to Penn, when Mr. 
Lloyd declined to confirm it. 

Up to March, 1689-90, the V/elsh Tract was left in a 
peculiar position, with thanks to Mr. Lloyd, Mr. Eckley, 

[351] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

and Mr. Turner, the majority of the five commissioners. 
Its large "towns" of Haverford and Radnor had been trans- 
ferred from Philadelphia county to Chester county by the 
resolution of 1 April, 1685, and this was acknowledged by 
the Philadelphia county authorities, as they made no at- 
tempt to collect taxes in these townships for Philadelphia 
county uses. And, although attempts were made to induce 
them to do so, they had paid no taxes, or assessments for the 
expenses and support of Chester county, the resolution 
aforesaid not having the sanction of Penn, nor had it been 
confirmed by him or his deputy governor. The Welsh 
Quakers did not care how long this state of affairs lasted. 
In fact, this being separate and distinct from all county 
organizations, was what Penn had given them to understand 
would be the status of their whole tract in the province, 
so they could only suppose they had come so far into their 
own (it was as near as the tract ever came to being a real 
"barony"), and accordingly, in these years, carried on the 
affairs of the two "towns" through their monthly meeting, 
and collected assessments, and contributions within them 
for the use of the whole "barony." 

But unexpectedly, on the morning of 25. Imo., 1689-90, 
the Chester line matter, and the assignment of Haverford 
and Radnor, was suddenly revived in the meeting of the 
Executive Council, Captain John Blackwell, the then deputy 
governor, presiding, by a motion to consider. 

Information as to this soon reached Thomas Lloyd, the 
attorney and champion for the Welsh in the "line matter," 
so he went to the Chamber, and inquired of the Governor 
as to the rumor. The Governor assured him, saying, "No 
such thing was yt brought before them, but that if any 
such thing were, wherein it should be found requisite to 
hear them [the Welsh Quakers] they should have notice 
thereof." 

That very afternoon, the justices, and some inhabitants 
of Chester county, appeared by appointment before the' 
Council, and presented a petition, stating: — 

[352} 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

"Whereas, Ye said County [Chester] is but a Small 
tract of Land, not above nine miles Square, & but Thinly 
seated, whereby ye said County is not able to Support the 
Charge thereof [the illproportioned tax put on it for the 
support of the Provincial Government] . Upon our humble 
Request to The Proprietor & Goer'r, and his Serious Con- 
sideration of our weak Condition, was pleased out of Com- 
passion to us, to grant an Enlargement of ye same, in man- 
ner following, viz : to runn up ff rom Delaware River, along 
darby mill Creek, ye severall Courses thereof?, untill they 
took in Radnor and Herford Townshipps." 

The Chester county people thereupon again prayed for the 
confirmation of the bounds named in the resolution of 1685, 
so their county would be large enough to be able to defray 
the charges against it, and the justices urged that the new 
line be run and recognized, on the ground of general juris- 
diction and assessments. 

The Governor, John Blackwell, then demanded the Ches- 
ter county committee should put in writing, as a matter of 
form, and submit to the Council, "their allegations" as to 
the bounds of the county, and proof that the Proprietor said 
that Radnor and Haverford townships should be included in 
Chester county, for the object they claimed, as there was no 
documentary proof of it. 

John Blunstone, of Chester Co., wrote: "A few days 
before Govern'r Penn left this Province that upon ye bank 
by John Simcock's house, I moved him to decide this mat- 
ter," .... "who then, before me and Others, did 
Declare that" . . . [the new bounds should] "take in 
the Townds of Herford & Rudnor," &c., "then I asked him if 
he would be pleased to give it under his hand, to avoyd 
further Trouble," and he said that Penn told him to see 
him the following day. A Chester Co. man, Blunstone con- 
tinued, was sent the next day to see Penn, and came back 
without getting the order, "what then obstructed I am not 
certaine," said Blunstone, and Penn sailed to England two 
days later, without leaving directions. 

[.353] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Randall A^ernon, of Chester Co., testified in writing, that, 
"some time since William Howell, of Harford [he served 
on the petty jury 28, 8, 1683], Signified unto me, and gave 
it under his owne hand, yt some time after they there Set- 
tled that he asked ye Govern'r to what County they should 
be joyned, or belong unto, & The Govern'r was pleased to 
answer him that they must belong to Chester County." 

Thomas Usher, the sheriiT of Chester Co., testified, that in 
conversation with Penn, the Governor said to him, 
"Thom.as, .... I intend that ye bounds of Philadel- 
phia County Shall Come about 3 or ffour miles on this side 
of the Skoolkill." 

To clinch the "evidence," a map of Pensylvania,* "made 
for the Governor" by Surveyor Holme sometime after it was 
voted, in 1685, at the Council meeting over which Holme 
presided, that Haverford and Radnor should be included 
within Chester county, was produced, and examined by the 
President. It showed these two townships located in Ches- 
ter county, of course, for that was where Holm.e wanted 
them, and he had the resolution of 1685 as his "authority" 
for so placing them (that the "bounds of Chester county 
should begin at the [junction of Darby Creek and] Mill 
creek [now Cobbs creek] and sloping to ye Welsh township 
[line], and thence to Sehoolkill," in a straight line, thus 
throwing the townships of Radnor and Haverford, and the 
lands of "Rowland Ellis & Company," "John Eckley & 



*"Thomas Holme's Map of the Province of Pensylvania, containing 
the Three Counties of Chester, Philadelphia, and Bucks, as far as yet 
surveyed and laid out," was the title of this map. The bounds are in 
different colors, and the statement is made: The divisions or distri- 
butions made by the different coullers aspects the settlements by way 
of tov/nships." The map is drawn to scale of one mile to an inch. The 
information on the printed map is 'First printed and sold and dedi- 
cated to William Penn by John Thornton and Robert Green, of Lon- 
don.' The original map is in the Philadelphia Library. In 1845, 200 
:opies in facsimile, by "the asastic process," were made from the 
original, for Mr. Lloyd P. Smith. 

[354] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

Company" into Chester county, while originally the divid- 
ing line began at the mouth of Darby creek, and a straight 
line, with Haverford and Radnor Towns on the East side of 
this line, and New Town on the West side, continued to the 
uppemiost line of the Welsh Tract), so it was taken for 
granted by the President that it was Penn's desire, although 
there was no evidence that he had confirmed the resolu- 
tion of 1. 2mo., 1685. 

Ever since then there has been mystery surrounding the 
date of Holme's map, as it bears none, yet it is certainly 
an interesting, if not valuable one to us. In October, 1690, 
certain Welshm_en reported in a petition (quoted there- 
after) to the Executive Council that there were at that 
time "near four score" settlements in the whole Welsh 
Tract, which they desired should be understood as a fine 
showing of population after eight years' possession. But 
according to Holme's map, alleged to have been compiled 
in 1683-4, or in 1685, he mentions in it as settlements, or 
seated plantations, in the Welsh Tract, forty in Radnor, 
thirty-two in Haverford, and thirty-two in Merion, that is 
104 in all. He did not name the settlers of Haverford and 
Radnor, but did those of Merion, excepting the "17 lots" in 
the "Thomas & Jones" tract. He, being a surveyor and 
acquainted personally, or through his deputies, with this 
section, must have been certain of his statements. There- 
fore, from the statement of 1690, it looks as if Holme made 
his map long after 1685, and about 1689, when it was dis- 
played to convince Blackwell, and when the actual seats 
numbered near eighty, the other score, or more, being 
names of land owners only. 

" 'Twas asserted," by someone, "that the Welch Inhabi- 
tants had Denyed themselves to be any part of The County 
of Philadelphia, by refusing to bear any Share of Charges, 
or [to] serve in office, or Jurys, And the like as to ye 
County of Chester." "That the pretence thereof was," said 

[355] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

another, "they were a distinct Barrony, wch [and this] they 
might be, yet [that] severall Barronys might be in one and 
ye same County." This was in 1689. 

The members of the Council present "Declareing them- 
selves satisfied Concerning their [Haverford and Radnor] 
being a part of Chester County, upon ye grounds alliged 
and proved as aforesaid," Avere going to confirm the bounds, 
when they were informed that Thomas Lloyd was without, 
and had something to say against this. 

On being brought into the Council Chamber, Mr. Lloyd 
again said he "understood something had been moved about 
adding ye Vv^elsh Towns, or tracts, to the county of Chester, 
and if anything was proposed, desired they would give him 
an opportunity to speak." 

So, he was invited to come next morning and "shew cause 
why they should not be Declared to be of the County of 
Chester, as the Proprietor had promised." "Otherwise, the 
Evidence seemed so full as that they should proceed to 
Declare their judgment therein." 

The following morning, 26 March, 1689, "At the Coun- 
cill in the Councill Room," the minute of the Council, 
"touching the ascertayning the dividing lyne betweene the 
Countys of Philadelphia & Chester, dated ye 1st day 2. Mo. 
1685," was read. Samuel Carpenter and William Yardley 
thought the Welsh of Philadelphia Co. should have a longer 
time to consider the boundary question, but the Governor 
thought the matter was so plain, there was no need debat- 
ing it further. However, if there was anyone without who 
wished to say anything at once, he would hear him if 
brought in. The Secretary, William Markham, was sent 
from the room to inquire, and brought back the attorneys, 
Thomas Lloyd and John Eckley. "The Governor asked 
them if they had anything to object (on the behalf of ye 
Welsh people) , against the Running of the lyne as appeared 
by the map, which added them to ye County of Chester." 

"Tho. Lloyd sayd, 'the Proprietor assured them their 
Barony should not be divided, and had given them grounds 

[356] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

to Expect they should be made a County Palatine.' The 
Govern'r inquired if any such thing had beene past? 
[recorded]. Nothing appeared." Apparently, Gov. Lloyd 
did not produce the warrant of survey as voucher that the 
Welsh tract was to be as in a barony. 

"Tho Lloyd asked the Govern'r by what authority these 
dividing Lynes were drawne? The minute on this matter, 
of the day before, was read to him as answer; to which 
Tho. Lloyd declared his opinion: That some more time 
should have been allowed for their appearing to make their 
Exceptions." "He also demanded of the Gover'r whether 
the Proprietor had power of himself to divide the Countyes, 
or whether the Proprietor & Councill. The Govern'r an- 
swered that by ye said Depositions, minutes, & map, it 
appeared to be done by both in this case." 

"John Eckley declared he had nothing to say, but that he 
thought further time might be allowed in the matter." 

After the attorneys for the Welsh has retired, the ques- 
tion was put in Executive Council as to accepting the 
bounds of Chester Co., "Expresst by the dividing line 
marked in the large map of the Province, dedicated to ye 
Proprietor, and being according to the Order of the Pro- 
vinciall Councill, dated ye 1. of ye 2d m.onth, 1685." The 
motion was "carried by a rising vote. Carpenter and Yard- 
ley voting contrary, because they thought the Welsh ought 
to have had a longer time for making their defence." 

Friend Thom.as Lloyd, who had good I'eason for not liking 
Gov. Blackwell, and the Governor had no liking for him, 
as he was one of the men he could not control, or bring 
into his way of thinking, was not only exceedingly annoyed 
at the loss of his "case," but was angry over the "snap 
judgment." Whether, or not, he wished to annoy the Gov- 
ernor, Col. Markham, the secretary of the Council, tells 
that Thomas hung about the Council Chamber door har- 
ranguing a crowd so loud about the injustice to his clients 
that the Governor could not proceed with business in Coun- 

[357] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

cil, "and desired ye sayd Tho Lloyd would forbeare such 
lowd talking, telling him he must not suffer such doings, but 
would take a Course to suppresse it, and shutt ye Doors, 
So he went away." And the Governor, the erstwhile Crom- 
wellian, remarked, "Seems we have two Governors, one 
inside the Council Chamber, and one outside," thus recog- 
nizing the great influence the 'Welsh Quaker, Mr. Lloyd, had 
in the city, and the Province. 

After the Governor's decision, the regulation of Haver- 
ford and Radnor was left to the Chester Co. Court, and it 
had a hard proposition before it to make the Welsh Quakers 
submit to its authority. The first attempt to organize the 
townships with proper officers, was when the Court made 
the order appointing as constables, John Lewis for Haver- 
ford, and John Jarman for Radnor. But as they declined 
to appear at Court and qualify, the Court ordered that war- 
rants of contempt be "directed to the sheriff to apprehend 
the bodys of Lewis and Jarman for their contempt in not 
entering into their respective offices of Court, .... 
when thereunto required by this Court." Lewis does not 
appear to have surrendered, but Jarman was, in a few 
months, attested constable for Radnor by the Court. David 
Lawrence was drawn as a grand juror from Haverford, 
and declining to serve, "was mulct in ten shillings fine," 
William Jenkins for the same reason was also fined, and 
finally consented to serve. As early as in the June term of 
Court, William Howell, mentioned above by Vernon, was 
appointed the justice of the Court, in Haverford, but Avould 
not accept the commission, "But he did afterwards sub- 
scribe to the solemn declaration prepared by the 57th chap- 
ter of the great Law of this province." In Imo., 1689-90, 
John Blunston, mentioned above, was rewarded for his 
efforts in the "line matter" by being returned by Chester 
Co. to represent it in the Provincial Council for three years. 
But being unable to serve, William Howell, of Haverford, 
was elected in his place, but he, too, sent a letter "setting 
forth his Incapassity of giveing Such attendance as is 

[358] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

Requisite to that Service." Like the others of the Welsh 
Quakers, he was stubborn, and could not be conciliated even 
by high office, and the supposition is, Vernon misquoted him 
at the hearing. The Court at Chester presented "the want 
of the Inhabitants of the townships of Radnor and Harfort 
and the Inhabitants adjacent they not being brought in to 
join with us in the Levies, and other public services of this 
County." But in about a year, the jurisdiction of the Ches- 
ter Court was recognized, and the Welsh "towns" had the 
proper officers in 1690, when the civil authority exercised 
by the Monthly Meeting was supplanted by the usual town- 
ship government. 

In fact up till now, no Welsh Quakers would accept 
appointments from the Chester Co. Court, else it would 
be construed an acknowledgment by the Welsh that Haver- 
ford and Radnor were parts of the county of Chester. It 
was such continued refusals in past years that forced the 
Chester Court and inhabitants to bring the line matter up 
again before the Executive Council, as above related, and 
this is the proof that the Chester Court had considered the 
action of the Council, on 1. 2mo., 1685, as final, but to make 
the resolution valid, wanted the new Governor's confirma- 
tion, as Penn, nor Lloyd, would not give it. 

I don't suppose there ever was a better sample of fake 
evidence winning a cause than that of this use of "Holme's 
Map of Pensilvania." Gov. Blackwell, a stranger here, it 
would be charitable to believe was "easy" and credulous, 
and had no suspicion that Holme was always unfriendly to- 
wards the Welsh, and had made his map, in 1685, or later, 
after the Council meeting, on 1. 2mo., 1685, at which he 
acted as presiding officer, showing Haverford and Radnor, 
located in Chester Co., and the Welsh Tract bisected, for 
the very object in which it was used. 

What was Penn's part in this suspicable transaction? 
When he received the map in England, if he examined it, 
he must have supposed that his surveyor-general had placed 
the two Welsh "towns" in Chester Co. only to let him see 

[359] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

what the proposed county line would do, if he sanctioned 
it. He certainly knew that the Council passed the "line 
resolution" in 12mo., 1685-6, for it was sent to him, and 
also that he, or his Deputy Governor, never confirmed the 
action. But as there was no protest from Penn on file, 
Governor Blackwell, with the map dedicated to Penn before 
him, could have presumed it was just as Holme, and the 
Chester justices, and principal inhabitants of Chester Co. 
assured him, for although Lloyd and Eckley must have been 
familiar with the situation, they only asked that the Welsh 
have "more time to consider" about giving their consent. 
However, we have only the scanty Council minutes on this 
matter as authority for this. But there was more behind 
this "line affair" than "the county sheriff's jurisdiction," 
and "assessments," that showed the personal interests of 
Holme, et al. 

At this time there was an election shortly due for coun- 
cillors and assemblymen, and there was to be returned 
for Philadelphia county, in which the Welsh Tract lay, one 
councillor and six assemblymen. There were two sets of 
candidates — the Governor's tickets, and that of the Quakers. 
With the Welsh Tract Quakers voting solid against the 
administration's candidates, there was no hope of their 
election. Therefore it was the scheme of the political sup- 
porters of the administration to force the acceptance of 
Holme's Chester county line before the election. If they 
gained their point, as we see they did, this would throw the 
votes of the two big Welsh townships of Radnor and Hav- 
erford into Chester Co., and with the lost of the sixty 
Welsh Quaker votes in these townships, or 72 votes, if we 
are to believe Holme, who, on his map, has this number of 
land owners in these townships, the power of the Welsh 
Tract would be broken. Further, the casting of these 
Welshmen's votes in Chester Co. would make no difference 

[360] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

in that county, as it was overwhelmingly in favor of the 
administration. 

But when the election took place, the transplanted Welsh 
Quaker freemen declined to recognize the new dividing line, 
and cast their votes as with Chester Co., but voted for their 
candidate for councillor, John Eckley, with Merion town- 
ship, as of Philadelphia county, with this solid Welsh Tract 
vote Eckley was elected to represent Philadelphia Co. in 
the Executive Council, and the administration candidate 
v/as defeated. 

The Deputy-Governor and the Council immediately con- 
sidered this feature of the election, the irregularity of 
which was reported by the sheriff, 1 Sept., 1689, and threw 
out the entire Welsh Tract vote for Mr. Eckley, declaring 
"yt ye Election of Jo Eckley was not a good Election accord- 
ing to ye Charter," and ordered a new election. 

Then arose a momentuous question. The Council debated 
the proper manner of choosing the candidate, and conduct- 
ing the election, as all were not of one mind, and the "Form 
of Government," and the "Charter" were ambiguous and 
uncertain on this subject, so "the usual custom" had to be 
considered as the rule, whether the election must be "by 
vote or by ballot," a distinction being made in these methods, 
that is, "by vote" the expression of choice was viva voce, 
and "by ballot" the proceeding was comparatively secret. 

In the second election ordered, the freemen, uncertain 
which was correct, generally "voted" by both methods, for 
the same candidates, in different counties, so the proper 
manner of voting was not settled, nor was the result of the 
election changed. 

In this new election, the Welsh freemen of the three 
townships of the Welsh Tract, voted together again, and 
this time viva voce, and again elected Mr. Eckley 
unanimously. 

But the Deputy-Governor and the Executive Council 
would not accept this second election, because "the Haver- 

[361] 



Vv^ELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

ford and Radnor freeman voted in the wrong county," and 
because "all the polls were not taken uniformly," and a 
new election ordered, although the administration could be 
defeated without Haverford and Radnor voting in Phila- 
delphia and refusing to vote in Chester Co. 

This brought up again the discussion between the free- 
men and the Council, over the manner and method of choos- 
ing at a poll. It was on this occasion that Griffith John, or 
Jones (the father-in-law of Thomas Jones, of Merion, son 
of John ap Thomas) , deserted the Welsh column, and took 
side against the views of the Welsh Quakers beyond the 
Schuylkill. 

One Mr. Curtis claimed, in the debate, "it was a very 
fayre Election. In other places we are generally chosen 
by the Vote." Another gentleman said, "the balloting box 
is not used in any other place but this country." And 
Griffith Jones replied, "this was a mistake, for it is used at 
Upland, and all the Lower Countyes, by black and white 
beans put into a hatt, wch is a ballotting in my sense, and 
cannot be denyed by the Charter vi^hen it is demanded." 
(Pa. Col. Rec. I. 282.) 

The above gives a good idea of primative elections for 
officials in Pensylvania in 1689. But the manner, I don't 
think, agreed with the instructions in the 1683 "Frame of 
Government," which was to use a written ballot, as was the 
custom in West Jersey, since 1676, and in the New Eng- 
land colonies, following the ancient Roman institution. 

So bitter was the feeling against Mr. Eckley that the 
doors of the Council Chamber were shut to him, and he 
would not be allowed in the room even only as a spectator. 
But then spectators had the privilege of injecting remarks, 
expressing their opinions, if not actually taking part in 
debates. Nor was Thomas Lloyd permitted to enter the 
Chamber, because he annoyed the Governor even by his 
presence. Nor was Samuel Richardson, because he refused 
to recognize Blackwell's authority over the Welsh Friends 
in the "barony." Mr. Lloyd urged him to enter one morn- 

[362] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

ing, but the Governor had him forcibly ejected from the 
Chamber. Captain Blackwell's tenure of office was as 
unpleasant to himself as to the people generally, and when 
he was ordered home, he thanked God for his removal, for 
"he was sick of the Pensylvania mess." Thomas Lloyd 
again received the appointment to Governorship, and suc- 
ceeded him, much to the delight of the Friends, in Jan., 
1690-91. 

The Council refusing to accept the election of Mr. Eck- 
ley, the opinion of the Court of Chester was sought, as to 
the status of the Welsh Quaker votes, and manner of voting 
in Chester county. But as Mr. Lloyd shortly returned to 
the Deputy-Governorship, he settled the questions satisfac- 
torily out of court. 

Of course, after the Welsh Quakers of Haverford and 
Radnor found they were irrevocably located in Chester Co., 
they accepted county offices for their own protection, but 
as the Executive Council, or the Court of Chester had no 
control over their spiritual matters, the Haverford and Rad- 
nor Welsh Friends continued their allegiance to Merion 
Friends, and the three meetings continued as the Haver- 
ford (or, subsequently, Radnor) monthly meeting, and in 
the jurisdiction of the Philadelphia quarterly meeting, 
ignoring altogether the Chester quarterly meeting, in spite 
of its protests, and this situation still obtains. 

In this connection, the following note from the Haver- 
ford Monthly Meeting, addressed to the Chester Quarterly 
Meeting, preserved with the papers of John ap Thomas, in 
the Levick family, of Bala, is not without interest: — 
"To ffriends of the Quarterly Meeting in Chester County. 

"From our Monthly Meeting held at Haverford, the 10th 
of the 8th month, 1700. Dear friends. In the Truth of God 
our Salutation is unto you, desireing we may be one in it 
forever. 

"The proposal Layd before our monthly meeting of 
friends appointed by your Quarterly meeting, viz. that our 

[363] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

monthly meeting should be Joyned to your Quarterly meet- 
ing, was Laid before the Quarterly meeting at Philadelphia, 
by the friends of our monthly meeting appointed to attend 
the same. And their unanimous desire & sence, and also the 
generall sence of this our monthly meeting is. That being 
we Joyned to their Quarterly meeting from our first Settle- 
ment, That therefore & for other Reasons we Should So 
continue, which in answer to your desire we thought fitt tq 
Signifi unto you. 

Signed by the approval 
of the meeting, 
By Thomas Jones". 
Sometime before the alleged final decision as to the posi- 
tions of Haverford and Radnor, the Chester County Court 
cited all the freemen of the county, inhabitants of these two 
townships included, for not paying their taxes into Court. 
But these Welsh towns paid no attention to the command. 
When it was supposed there was no longer any question 
where they were, the Chester Court cited the Welsh Qua- 
kers alone to pay, not only current taxes, but "back taxes" 
even from the 12mo., 1685, when it was assumed they wei'e 
transplanted into Chester Co. Long and bitter was the 
contest over this fought out by Judge David Lloyd;* and 



*Judge David Lloyd had more than the interest of a paid attorney 
in this matter, for though he was not an inmate of the Welsh Tract, 
he owned some land therein, and was a Welsh Quaker, and a relative 
of Gov. Thomas Lloyd. He and his wife, Sarah, a native of Ciren- 
cester, in Gloucestershire, came over in the ship Amity, of London, to 
Upland, or Chester, and arrived on 15. 5mo. 1686. He was born in 
Manavan parish, Montgomeryshire, in 1656. In Pennsylvania and in 
England he had a reputation as both a shrewd politician and a 
learned lawyer, and in 1690, he was mentioned in a proclamation of 
Queen Mary, as a suspected conspirator against King William. In 
1700, he was appointed attorney-general of the province, and was 
Penn's champion in his troubles with the Quarry-Moore faction. But 
in the next year, he turned and became opposed to the Penn-Logan 
party, and so stood when Penn died. He also served the province 
as speaker of the assembly, and was the register, and recorder of 

[364] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

it all goes to make up the sum and substance of the harsh 
treatment of the Welsh Quakers. Judge Lloyd argued that 
payment was due only from the time of the decision as to in 
which county Radnor and Haverford were, and gained his 
case. Some inhabitants of these townships had paid taxes 
into Philadelphia County. They were indemnified. Patents 
describing Haverford and Radnor lands as in Philadelphia 
County, were changed in the records to read as of Chester 
County. 

Yet, for all this, the arrangement at that time was only 
tentative, — accepted by the Welsh Friends because of their 
aversion at this time to "fighting the case in court," for in 
June, 1720, the dividing line question had not been settled 
definitely, for once more it was up before the Provincial 
Council to give opinion on the division line between the 
counties of Philadelphia and Chester, as the "inhabitants 
of the South side of Schoolkill" had been assessed in both 
counties. Nor was it settled in the next year, when it was 
again asked that a proper adjustment and re-survey of the 
whole division line be made. And on this matter, on 26 
March, 1722, David Lloyd, the lawyer, appeared for the 
Commissioners, and also the petitioners. He declared that 
up to this time no regular division between the two counties 
"had yet appeared to this Board" of Commissioners, and 
"tax collectors did not know what to do, as an injunction 
stood," till the line was positively determined. Mr. Lloyd 
was thoroughly posted in this matter, having been con- 
cerned in it from the first. He mentioned the beginning of 



Philadelphia county, and was chief Justice of the Supreme Court when 
he died, in 1731, aged 75 years. He was buried at Chester, where 
he resided in the mansion called "Green Bank," built in 1721, as a 
tablet in west gable said, subsequently owned and occupied by Como. 
David Porter. In Feb. 1882, this old house, which had degenerated 
into a fire-works factory, was destroyed by fire. Judge Lloyd also 
had a Philadelphia residence, where the Bank of Pensylvania was 
erected. His second wife, Grace Growden, died in 1760, aged 80. 

[365] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

the trouble in 1688-9, and earlier, but he said that the rec- 
ords of the early surveys and proceedings therein, except- 
ing the slight mention in Council minutes, could not be 
found, and therefore the Board was unable to determine the 
matter till these papers could be produced. He knew that 
they had passed from official into private hands years ago, 
but who now had them he did not know, so an order was 
given to try to find them. 

One of the earliest annoyances the Welsh Quakers had 
was that a Chester Co. man, as Deputy-Surveyor, was con- 
tinually making lands, which he laid out for non-Welsh, 
adjoining the Welsh Tract, overlap the Welsh lands. So 
frequently did this occur, that the Welsh finally complained 
to the Executive Council. 

17, 7mo., 1685. Minute of the Council, Thomas Lloyd, 
president : 

"Complaint being made by Henry Lewis, John Bevan, and 
others, in ye behalfe of ye Welch friends, that their Lines 
runn out Regularly, according to ye Gov'rs Warr't, were 
notwithstanding, by Charles Ashcome, Deputy-Surveyor of 
Chester County, his undue Execution, of several Later War- 
rants, prevented from ye quiet Enjoym't of ye tract that 
was legally laid out for them. 

"The Board [of Land Commissioners], upon ye hearing 
of ye same, ordered yt Charles Ashcome be required to pre- 
pare and bring in to ye Council a Draught by a scale of a 
160 perches in an inch, for all ye Lands Surveyed and Laid 
out by him Westwardly of ye N.N.W. line, runn by Ralph 
ffretwell and himselfe, and to attend the Councill & Com- 
iss'rs with it ye next Third day, by ye hour in ye fore- 
noone, for ye Speedy Composing ye Differences & ascer- 
taining ye lines between ye Chester friends and others, 
and ye Welch friends, & in the meantime to Survey no more 
Land until further Or'd." 

At the Meeting, 22, 7mo., 1685, Ashcome appeared bring- 
ing "a Draught of ye Settlement upon ye West side of ye 

[366] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

line Runn out, ye Councill upon perusall and observation 
of ye same, and Comparing the lines thereof with a Draught 
made up by ye same Scale by David Powell, of ye Tract 
surveyed by him in behalfe of ye Welch friends, have recom- 
mended by adjustment of ye disputed bounds, and accomo- 
dating the Differences thence arising & further likely to 
Ensue, unto ye Council and Comiss'rs Joyntly, at their next 
sitting." 

At this meeting, Thomas Holme, the Surveyor-General, 
stated, to excuse himself, that he only kept Ashcom_e as a 
deputy-surveyor "on order of Gov. Penn, verbally, and by 
letter." Ashcome was asked to explain the faults of his 
surveys; his answer not being satisfactory, he was sus- 
pended by Thomas Lloyd. 

Along in the next year, according to the minutes of the 
Commissioners of Land, the Welsh across the Schuylkill 
began to have other trouble about their Tract, not only with 
squatters within their bounds, and, as above, with influ- 
ential English patentees for whom land was surveyed over- 
lapping their Tract, but, what was more disappointing, with 
Penn's Commissioners, and even with the Proprietary 
himself. 

Pressure was brought on him by those who coveted the 
fertile lands beyond the Schuylkill, and by those desiring 
the breaking up of the Welsh Tract, to dispossess the Welsh 
of their unoccupied land, and put it up for sale again. To 
satisfy the new applicants, realizing, by doing as they sug- 
gested, he could raise money, — he then needed it badly, — 
he established some new rules as to holding land; the one 
aimed directly at the Welsh was embodied in the following 
Proclamation, "Given at Worminghurst Place in old Eng- 
land the 24th of the 11th Month, 1686" :— 

"Since there was no other thing I had in my Eye in the 
Settlement of this Province next to the advancement of 
Virtue, than the comfortable Situation of the Inhabitants 
herein and for that end, with the advice and consent of th? 

[367] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

most eminent of the first Purchasers, ordained that every 
Township consisting of five thousand Acres should have 
tenn familys at least,* to the end that the Province might 
not be like a Wilderness as some others [West Jersey?] yet 
do by vast vacant tracts of Land, but be regularly 
improved." 

He commanded his Commissioners "that they inspect 
what Tracts of Land taken up lye vacant and unseated, and 
are most likely to give cause of exception and Discourage- 
ment to those yt are able and ready to seate the same, and 
that they dispose of them, if not seated by the present pre- 
tenders within Six Months after the Publication hereof." 

This was followed by another proclamation by Penn dated 
1. 12mo., 1686-7, which contained many new rules jealously 
guarding his lands and rights, and thereby limiting those of 
the first comers. For instance, "no warrants of resurvey 
be granted for Land within five Miles of the River Dela- 
ware, or any Navigable River." In this document, he 
acknowledges that "I formerly granted a warrant for 
40,000 Acres for the Welsh People to lie contiguous on the 
West side of ye Schoolkill," yet it was the experience of the 
grantees that they could not have their purchases within the 
tract "lie contiguous." 

Penn further claimed "one share" for himself in every 
township, "with all ye Indian Fields that are in the town- 
ships." The Welsh were undoubtedly sore over this rule, 
for it not only cut up their tracts, or farms, but took away 
from them cleared land, that the Indians had cultivated, but 
they could only protest, and that to no relief. 

This was mentioned in taking notice of a survey of 4,000 
acres to Thomas Barker & Co., that over-lapped the Welsh 
Tract, concerning which trespass Messrs. David Powell, 
Hugh Hoberts, Griffith Owen, Edward Jones, William 



*This sounds very like the instructions to the Council of New 
Amsterdam, over thirty years before, — to have "Colonists settle them- 
selves with a certain number of families in some of the most suitable- 
places, in the manner of towns." 

[368] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

Edward, Price Jones, and Rowland Ellis, the most promi- 
nent Welshmen, appeared before the Commissioners "in 
behalf of ye Welsh friends," on 13. 3mo., 1687. A matter 
that was settled to the partial satisfaction of the Welsh. 

Some years after the Welsh Friends had settled on land, 
for which they paid according to the acreage described in 
their deeds, their holdings being defined by rough surveys, 
marked by natural objects, Fenn concluded to have all the 
grants of land carefully resurveyed, and laid out according 
to the deeds, for he felt sure, on certain information, that 
his grantees held more land, or acreage, than their deeds 
called for. To this end, he included in his proclamation of 
1. 12mo., 1686-7, the notice: — "All overplus Lands upon 
Resurvey be reserved to my use, and Disposal." 

Fenn was within his rights in this order, but when it was 
found that nearly every Welshman had more land in his 
possession than his deed called for, and that Fenn informed 
them they could have the "overplus," but only by paying 
for it, at then current prices, they became very indignant, 
and felt much abused; but Fenn was obdurate. If we may 
be allowed to judge from the results of the resurveys of 
Turner's grantees, given above, where resurveys showed 
great overplusage, and I have mentioned many other 
instances, Fenn was right in discovering what belonged to 
him, and also in selling it at the best advantage, though it 
was considered a hardship to have to pay the advanced 
prices for land which had been improved by the holder, so 
this order, probably, should not be included in the catalog 
of Fenn's unjustness towards the Welsh Quakers, at whom 
the notice seems to have been particularly aimed, although 
it was one of their grievances. 

All these sundry curtailments of gifts, promises and 
rights by William Fenn, caused the Welsh Friends, not only 
mortification and annoyance, but loss of property, standing 
and respect, and these injuries brought out the following 
petition, written in English, but now almost illegible : — 

[369] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"Philadelphia, the 23rd, 3d mo., 1688." 

"To the Proprietry," Etc. 

"The humble petition of the Inhabitants of the Welsh 
Tract, Showeth, 

"That, whereas William Penn, Propriet'y" &c., &c. 
Because, not understanding with English tongue, and court 

proceedings," "he gave his most solemn 

word before they removed from the land of their nativity, 
that they, ye petion^, should have abt forty thousand acres 
of land contiguously laid out as a Barony, and that they 
should not be obliged to answer nor sweare in any court 
whatsoever, but should have Courts and Magistrates of 
their own, wherein justice should be ministered according 
to the laws of the Govern™*," or to that effect. 

"In consideration whereof, and for a manifestation of ye 
pet^ Love & gratitude to the Gov'' and his Govern™*, they 
came over to this Province. 

"And Whereas, these Proprietary, in pursuance of his 
former promise. Did grant a Warrant for Surveying the 
tract accordingly. 

"And thereupon, further, that y petion''^ should enjoy 
the said previledges in manner aforesaid, and be exempt 
from attending all others [?], save only that they should 
maintain members to serve in the Councils and Assembly. 

''And, also, whereas, this Tract extends to the county of 
Philadelphia, and therefore [? is as in a county or barony] . 
Yr pefs have been summ'^ to the County Courts of both 
these Counties to serve on juries, and are likewise to be 
taxed in both places, to their great imposition. 

"Now, for as much as the priviledges & exemptions afore- 
said so [?] proposed by the Gov"'', is most thankfully 
acknowledged as a peculiar kindness to y Pet'''^, Neverthe- 
less, they desire to improve the same to no other end than 
to have their Courts & Magistrates of and among them- 
selves, as they had in Wales, and to be governed by the laws 
of Pensilvania here as they wei'e by the laws of England 

[370] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

there; and [in order] that good rule and order may both 
better be kept amongst them, and are [make them] amiable 
with those English and others [our] neighbors." 

Further, they hoped especially that their monthly, and 
other Meetings may not be separated, and asked "what had 
been granted them by parole may now be confirmed to them, 
and other purchasers, and inhabitants of said tract." 

This "autograph petition," (preserved at the Pa. His. Soc. 
among the "Penn MSS.") beautifully written, in quaint 
expression, with some words uncertain, was signed, in 
autograph, by the following prominent gentlemen of the 
Welsh Tract :— 

Thomas Ellis. John Humphrey. 

Griffith Owen. Samuel Rees. 

John Bevan. Morris Llewelyn. 

Hugh Roberts. John Roberts. 

Henry Lewis. Daniel Meredith. 

William Howell. Richard Moor. 

John Evans. Rees Peter. 

Robert Davies. Hugh Jones. 

Francis Howell. David Evan. 

William Jenkins. John Fairman. 
Phylyp Evan. 

On the reverse, the petition is endorsed : — "The petioners 
are worthy and are very earnest about it, but John Sym- 
cock much against, [and] as [to] also laying another 
County [the Welsh] beyond this," [Philadelphia]. 

It is almost impossible to imagine what the political 
development in the "Welsh Barony" would have been, if 
the Welsh Quakers — if so there had been enough of them, 
and there never was, — had had their rights as they under- 
stood them ; an independent State within the Province, with 
only one party in the field, and therefore no party struggles, 
an arcadic condition. But this could not have continued. 

[371] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

There would have always have been a changed condition 
to face, and the crisis would come when non-Quakers became 
in the majority in the "Barony," unless the Quakers had 
intended putting a Chinese-wall of immigration laws about 
their State, for the Quaker yoke, though mild to Friends, 
would be galling to non-Quakers,* as was the Mormons's to 
the Gentiles. Spiritual authority and control might have 
been tolerated so long as the majority were Quakers; but 
this condition had been, and has been tried, never with suc- 
cess, as it never obtained long, unless the little common- 
wealth of San Marino, which originated from a religious 
community, may be the exception, but the Welsh Tract 
Quakers did not for long constitute a singular community, 
either of all Welsh, or of all Quakers. 

Or, if it Avould not be the religious atmosphere and 
authority in the "Barony," that would be repugnant to new- 
comers, who were not of the Society, then it would have 
been the owners of the small farms, and the sense of free- 
dom the General Assembly gave, and universal suffrage, 
would have dragged down such suggestions of feudalism 
in their midst, as being dictated to by the owners of the 
princely estates. But this is only a trite conclusion, for it is 
a fact that "revolutions do not arise from discontent of 
the rich," and there was bound to be many small farmers 
in the Welsh Tract, because Penn had omitted the feudal 
law of primogeniture from his plan of government for his 
social and "holy experiment," since he was one of the 
advanced in thought who believed it the moral and 
religious duty of a parent to provide equally for all of his 
children, the laws of England, of course, preventing him 
from following the conviction in his own case. The benefits, 



*0r, as Mr. Isaac Sharpless says of the general governme'nt of the 
Province, in his work, "A Quaker Experiment in Government," "Had 
all the inhabitants been Friends and amenable to their discipline, very- 
little civil government would have been needed in internal affairs, 
* * * * and the courts of law would have been shorn of nearly all 
their criminal and much of their civil business." 

[372] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

or discomforts, with or without primogeniture had often 
been thrashed out in his time, and apparently good found 
concealed in both plans, so it is only necessary here to 
observe that the incessant sub-division of property, that 
began in Penn's day, has not resulted in any remarkable 
general misery and poverty and barbarism as predicted 
v/ould be the condition in Pensylvania in a hundred years 
by the prophets opposed to the revolutionary principal he 
recommended. We have seen the great estates of the Welsh 
Tract pioneers divided in the second generation among all 
the sons, and sub-divided in the third, and then again cut 
up, all to the advantage of the general community. 

In inspecting the members' lists of the Welsh Tract Pre- 
parative Meetings, and the minutes of the Welsh Monthly 
Meeting of Friends, when it was the "Baronial Assembly," 
it can be seen that the Friends's ministers and the elders 
were not only the leading men in the meetings, but were 
also the largest land holders, and the wealthiest men. So 
it can be imagined that in the Meeting-Assembly the 
patricians would be the "potent power of authority," and 
whether it was an Assembly, or an irregular Town Meeting 
of Freemen, the ministers and elders would control and 
direct the proceedings. Such was the case in the Swedish 
settlement down the Delaware; in Dutch one of New 
Netherlands; in that of the Walcons, on Long Island, and 
notably among the Puritans of New England, the minister 
was the chief man, just as the abbot was the "potent power" 
in the monastic "Towns" of England. Possibly, the only 
difference was that the Friends's ministers in the Welsh 
Tract were the richest men there. As late as in 1701, in a 
minute of Penn's Commissioners, they were all Friends's 
ministers, those men from the Welsh Tract, "some of the 
Chiefs of that Nation in this Province," who appeared as we 
shall see, before this Board on a matter of the affairs in 
the Welsh Barony. 

[373] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

I have read that these Quakers transplanted into their 
Towns their Welsh "customs" and "laws," but they were 
never so distinct that they could be identified after the 
Revolutionary War, and there is only evidence that they 
hoped they would prevail in the Towns. The supposition 
that peculiar Welsh laws had been in force in the Welsh 
Tract may have had its origin from what Minister Hugh 
Roberts said, in a letter quoted hereafter, Penn promised 
in respect to corporate rights in the "Barony." But cer- 
tainly Penn gave the Welsh no charters to establish "Towns" 
as they understood such, therefore, at the best, they could 
only assume they could have town officers and ordinances of 
their own selecting and making. And, whatever they were, 
it is likely the Welsh laws were similar to and as good as the 
English, for few laws of an old country are adapted to 
conditions peculiar to a new one, and certainly not without 
revision or amendment, and if Penn's "Laws" were traced 
back to their birth place it may be some were derived from 
the ancient Cymric code, though there is good evidence 
that Holland was the original home of his "Concessions, or 
Constitucons," and his "Frame." 

Apparently, the Welsh Quakers of the "Barony" enforced 
no peculiar Welsh code of laws, for the "Friends's customs," 
— committees on suffering, relief, peace, discipline, &c., 
were the working machinery of their "Assembly," and 
these were common to all monthly meetings. Whatever 
other intentions for self-government they may have had, 
they were never developed; the independent State was too 
short lived. So far as the "customs" could go, they were 
good and useful, but there were many matters they could 
not touch or cover, and, possibly the first to come up of 
this class of "annoyance," would have been suffrage 
privileges, and voting qualifications, when it came necessary 
to send delegates to the General Assembly to look after 
the interests of the Welsh "Towns," when they were hoping 
to enjoy representation without taxation, and their singular 
desire that their "State" was to flourish in the atmosphere, 

[374] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

— not in the protection, for Penn made no provision, or mar- 
tial arrangement even to protect his Province from any- 
possible enemy, — of a general government, without con- 
tributing to its support. 

This little territory of "621/) square miles" the Welsh 
Quakers thought would be the acme of comfort to have it 
all by themselves, — to which they fled from "sufferings," 
and where they hoped for complete release and rest from all 
the unpleasantnesses of that "high civilization" that then 
prevailed in the old country, and to be let alone, all of 
which might have been granted by Penn if they had not 
tried unusual political conditions, and not satisfied to be 
similar to the chartered New Netherland Company on 
Manhattan, and simply privileged to support themselves. 
But, as will be seen, they wanted more privileges, greater 
concessions than Penn could afford to allow, hence, as we 
shall also see, this was the cause of downfall of the Welsh 
Tract as a distinct settlement, a Welsh Utopia. 



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WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS. IL 

Possibly, the greatest dissatisfaction among the Welsh 
Friends beyond the Schuylkill was occasioned by the new 
order as to "unseated lands" in the Province, mentioned 
before, for there can be no question but that they held the 
greatest part of such land. It was a fact that the seven 
adventuring Welsh land companies, the so called "land 
trustees," when disposing of the 40,000 acres, did sell much 
land to speculators, or to some who held for a rise in 
values, but, all the same, the vendors knew the purchases 
had been made in good faith, and that they were in honor 
bound to protect them. 

A resolution passed by the Land Commissioners, Messrs. 
Markham, Turner, Carpenter, and Goodson, (not Welsh- 
men), under Penn's v/arrant of 24.11-1686, began the cam- 
paign to get away from the Welsh Friends as much of their 
40,000 acres as possible, at a sitting on 25 Oct. 1690, when 
they "took into Consideration the Great Quantity of Land 
lying waste and unsettled within a tract of about 40,000 
Acres, Commonly known by the name of the Welsh tract, 
the want of Seating and Improveing of which has been of 
great Dammage to the Proprietary and of Exceeding Loss 
and hinderance to the well seating and Strengthening the 
Province. Several Honest, able and Substantiall persons 
haveing either Leaft it for want of such convenient Seates 
that are unsettled in that Tract, or hindered from Seating 
Such as have been formerly layd out unto them in it. 

"Resolved, that notice be given unto David Powel, or some 
other purchaser concerned in the said tract, that they show 
cause why the land, not laid out, or not seated and Improved, 

[377] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

within the said tract, according to regulation, may not be 
disposed off as other Lands within this Province." The 
hearing was set for 19th of November following. 

On this date, 19 Nov. 1690, the Minutes record:— "Griff 
Owen vv^ith several other Purchasers who have an Interest 
in the Welsh Tract, was this Day with the Commiss'rs, 
according to notice sent to David Powel, bearing date the 
25th of ye Last Month. They requested a longer time to 
Give their ansvi^er to the Commiss'rs' Proposall, which, 
was granted untill the 13th of ye Next Month." 

On this date, "18th of lOber, 1690," the Minutes record: 
— "Griff. Owen, with several others. Inhabitants of the 
Welch tract. Came and gave in a Paper to the Commiss'rs, 
which follows verbatim : — 

"Wee, the Inhabitants of the Welch tract in the Province 
of Pensylvania, in America, being Descended of the Ancient 
Britains, who always in the land of our Nativity, under the 
Crown of England, have Enjoyed that Liberty and 
priviledge as to have our bounds and Limits to ourselves, 
within the which all cause. Quarrels, Crimes, and Tittles 
were tryed and wholly Determined by officers, Magistrates, 
Juries of our own Language, which were our Equals. 

"Having our faces towards these Countrys; Made the 
Motion to our Gov'r that we might Enjoy the same here, 
which thing was soon granted by him, before he or we ever 
came to these parts. 

"And when he came over, he gave forth his Warr't to 
lay out 40,000 acres of land, to the intent we might live 
together here, and Enjoy our Liberty and Devotion in our 
own Language, as before in our Country. 

"And so the 40,000 acres was Surveyed out, and by his 
own Warr't, Confirmed by several orders from the Com- 
miss'rs of ye Propriety and Settled upon already with near 
four score Settlements, and, as we have good grounds to 
believe, if the way had been Clear from troubles, there 
might had been so many Settlers upon it, by this time, as in 
Reason it could Contain. 

[378] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

"And besides, it is well known, there was several Scores 
of our men Serv'ts who was very desirous to have out their 
head land, according to promise, but could have none with 
any convenientcy that was worth to settle upon, whereby 
many are like to Desert the province and go to other 
Countrys. 

"Also, some of our Friends that have Concerned them- 
selves with the first that came over to this Country, have 
lived a while here, and Returned again to their families. 

"Friends and Relations, that had Disposed themselves to 
come over with all speed, if Providence had permitted, and, 
as far as we are given to understand, are Still waiting for 
the opportunity to their great Dammage. 

"And now to Deprive these of their lands and Libertys, 
which they Depend upon when Coming here (and that in 
their absence), Wee Look upon it to be a Verry Unkind 
Dealing, like to Ruining many Families, as also a Subtill 
undermining to Shutt that Door against our Nation, which 
the Lord had open for them to come to these Countrys. 

"For we can declare, with an open face to God and man, 
that we Desired to be by ourselves for no other End, or 
purpose but that we might live together as a Civill Society, 
to endeavour to deside all Controversies and debates 
amongst ourselves, in a Gospell order, and not to entangle 
ourselves with Laws in an unknown Tongue, as also to 
preserve our Language, that we might ever keep Corres- 
pondence with our friends in the land of our Nativity. 

"Therefore, our request is, 

"That you be tender, not only of violating the Governor's 
promises to us, but also of being Instrumental of depriveing 
us of the thing, which were the Chief Motives and Induce- 
ments to bring us here, and that you would be pleased, as 
far as in you lies, to preserve us in our properties, by 
removing all such incroachments as are made upon the 
Lines and Boundarys of our said tract, and by Pattent, or 
otherwise in Due form of Law, to Establish and Confirm 

[379] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

the same to us, so that we may not by any further pretences 
be interrupted in the peaceable Enjoyment thereof?, accord- 
ing to the Governor's true intent. 

"And then we shall with all readiness become responsible 
for the Quit-rent accruing to the Proprietor, the Commence- 
ments whereoff we shall referr and submitt to his Con- 
sideration, and if these our reasonable desires be not 
answered, but our antagonists Gratifyed by our being 
exposed to those uncertainties that may attend, wee shall 
choose, rather than Contest, to suffer, and appeal our Cause 
to God, and to our friends in England." 

As four years passed before his Land Commissioners in 
Philadelphia, began to act on Penn's order about the idle 
lands of the Welsh, over the Schuylkill, it may be presumed, 
if the order was published in 1686-7, that the Welsh tried 
to m.eet Penn's wishes, and failed, or that the Commis- 
sioners suppressed the Proclamation till they got the Welsh 
"just where they wanted them," and then began their attack, 
when they could make out a clear case against them, or 
when would-be purchasers were clamoring for this valuable 
land. Anyway, it was a well planned procedure. 

The reply of the Welsh, it may be seen, was dignified, 
and in part it was just and proper in their interest, though 
of quaint expression. It may be noticed, they claimed Penn 
promised them, before they bought his land, the right to 
govern themselves, in the manner they had been accustomed, 
v/ithin their tract on the Schuylkill, (just as he also 
promised the German settlers, as we have seen), else, 
possibly, they would not have removed. 

That their 40,000 acre tract was to be an independent 
"Welsh State," a "Civil Society," a municipality, governed 
by laws of its own making, and by men chosen from among 
themselves by themselves, all within Penn's Province, which 
has been noticed elsewhere, was a chimera, of course, but 
I do not imagine these intelligent Welshmen would have 
made this ascertion had they not known it to be the truth, as 

[380] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

they understood it, so it may be presumed Penn did agreed 
verbally to their plan of a State, for he was then selling 
his land. 

It may be also noted, they claimed there were only near 
80 homesteads, or "settlements," in the whole tract after 
eight years ownership, (Holme's map of about this date 
says 104), so it is likely that four years before there were 
not ten families seated to each 5,000 acre lot, "town," or 
township, when Penn issued his order that so astonished 
the Welsh, and from this, it may be supposed, he had not 
seen the map made for him by Holme. 

But as to the excuses for no greater seating, they are bot& 
good and poor. There is other proof that the intelligent 
Welsh were timid about removing, because of rumors of 
the uncertainty of land tenure in the Welsh Tract. Thea,, 
too, the Welsh had ceased coming over, conditions at home 
having improved, for the "toleration act" had ended their 
physical sufferings, and teasings, though their political 
disabilities remained. But why, in this great, fertile tracts 
the few servants could get no good land is not apparent^ 
They seem to have been entitled to some land, after serving 
their time, so the question is, had many served-out evea 
their passages? Certainly, Penn could not be blamed for 
this. Nor, that some early settlers had tired of farm life^ 
and had returned to Wales. And, it was only a possibility 
that those who had bought, and had not removed, wouM 
do so. 

But quit-rent was the crux of this matter, as much as was 
cash money through sales. Evidently there had been some 
effort by the Commissioners to collect the quit-rent dae 
Penn from the Welsh, and they had not paid (in fact, few,, 
possibly none, paid in the province, and this was one of the 
causes of Penn's mortification, and shortness of money) ^ 
because it was not agreed when the rentals should begis,, 
but now promised to do so, under the conditions mentione(S 
in the reply, and when it was determined from when 
payments should date. 

[381] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"1690, 20th of lOber." The Commissioners again met, 
and took up the reply of the Welsh, particularly as to quit- 
rents. They read it over again, "and haveing Considered of 
the same and found not to answer the propositions made by 
the Commiss'rs to them, Ordered, that the Commiss'rs 
propositions be Drawn up in writing to be Delivered to 
them, which follows Verbatim : — 

"By the Proprietary Com'i's. 

"To the Inhabitants of the Welch tract: — 

"The Proposition that was made to you by us was, 

"That, there being 40,000 acres of Land actually Sur- 
veyed and laid out and known by the name of the Welch 
tract, and there being Regular Returns thereof made in 
form and Manner as other purchasers Lands by which we 
know (and by no other means can) how to charge each 
Tract of Land with its Quit-rent, and, therefore, in course 
and according to the Method which has hitherto been used, 
we have Charged the said Tract of 40,000 acres as other 
tracts of the like purchase are. But least it should Surprise 
you, or give Suspition of an unneighbourly, or unfriendly 
act, we gave you time notice for a conferrence with us about 
it, and afterwards a Considerable time to make your 
answer; which you gave in writing the 13th Instant. 

"The which we have very Deliberately Considered, and 
find the Maj'r part of the writing not Cognissable by us, Or 
within our province, which is only to Confirm and grant 
Lands, &c., and settle the affairs of the Proprietor's 
Revenue, nor. Indeed, does any part of it answer our 
proposition, but Verry Obliquely, and with much ambiquity, 
which shows more of Skill and Cunning, then a Direct and 
Sincere answer. 

"Whatever the Proprietor hath promised, we Question not 
but he will perform ; and in whatever he has given us power 
we are Ready to doe, and when you please to Demand, will- 
ing to Confirm to you the said tract by Pattent, as we doe 
unto other purchasers, according to the warr't and Survey 

[382] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

the which, if you Refuse, and others accept. You Cannot 
think it hard if we grant your Refusal to them, who have 
Equal right with you by purchase to take up land. 

"To this we desire you will be speedy and plain in your 
Answer, as we are with you in our proposition, for we are 
Resolved what in us lyes, God willing, to Remove all Rubs 
and hindrances in the way to a quiet and easy Settlement 
off the Proprietor's Revenue within his Province. 

"Dated at Philadelphia, the 20th of 10th Mo. 1690." 

By this, the V/elsh were allowed more time to consider 
the demand of the Commissioners, and their conclusion is 
found in the following Minute; but there is no suggestion 
that they had appealed to Penn over the heads of his agents. 

"At a Meeting of the Commis'rs ye 2nd of the 3rd Month, 
1691." 

"This being the Day appointed for the Welch friends to 
give their answer to the Commiss'rs's propositions of the 
20th of December, Last, there appeared in behalf of the 
Welch, Griffith Owen, Hugh Roberts, Robert Owen, John 
Bevan, with many Others. 

"The V/elch Friends' answer is: that they are willing to 
pay hence forward Quit-rent for the whole 40,000 Acres, 
but not since the Date of Survey. 

"The which answer not being Satisfactory, or Direct, 
to our proposition : 

"Resolved, that the Lands already laid out in the Said 
Tract unto other Purchasers, Be Confirmed unto them." 

This was a terrible blow to the Welsh, for it opened up 
their large tract to strangers, people of any nationality, and 
any religion, who had money to buy from Penn. and it 
rudely awakened them from their dream of an independent 
Welsh State, and quite shattered their confidence in Wil- 
liam Penn. 

However, from the Minutes of the Commissioners, or 
Board of Property, 27th, 4mo. 1691, we leam that the Welsh 
made one more attempt to justify their claims, and to have 

[383] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

the quit-rent payable only from the time of the final survey 
of their tract, and not from the date of the grant, several 
years difference, or about £100 total difference, which was 
then quite as large a sum to Penn, as to them. 

This final attempt was another petition addressed to Penn 
himself, dated 15. 3mo. 1691 (the document is at the His- 
torical Society of Pa. ) , which went over the same ground 
and statements, covering three large pages, they did on 
13 Oct. 1690. 

But this last petition has as its important feature and 
statement^ |hat it was to Hugh Roberts, of Merion, the cele- 
brated Friends' minister, that Penn personally made these 
promises, before the Welsh Friends would buy and leave 
their native country. Hugh Roberts was one of the signers 
— the third — of this second petition, and therefore sub- 
scribed to his statement included in it, namely, "before we 
came from our native country, we desired a tract of land 

from you, and you promised Hugh Roberts 

it should be a barony, or corporation apart from others, 
but to fall under the Gen '1 Gov™', and desired him to com- 
municate it to Friends." 

And all those prominent Welshmen, who signed this 
petition, "with the unanimous consent of all ye Welsh con- 
cerned in ye tract," had every confidence in the statement 
of Hugh Roberts, and in the man himself. 

This document, a guarantee of the veracity of Hugh 
Roberts, as much as it was a petition, endorsed at the time, 
"Petition of Griffith Owen, R. Owen, and others," was 
signed in autograph, and in three columns, as follows : — 

Lewis David. David Meredith. Griffith Owen. 

John Bevan. Stephen Evans. Robert Owen. 

John Humphreys. \ Ellis ap Hugh. ' Hugh Roberts. 

Francis Howell. John Gorrnan. John Roberts. 

William Howell. Robert Davies. 

David Lawrence. Cadwalader Morgan^ 

John Lewis. Will Edward. 

[384] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

Edward Jones. Thomas Jones. 

Rees Jones. 
Hugh Jones. 
Edward Jones, Jun. 
Robert Owen. 
Griffith Jones. 
Abel Thomas. 

All but ten of these signers were Merion men, neighbors 
of Hugh Roberts, and the others lived in Haverford and 
Radnor. Seven of them were signers of previous petition, 
23. 2mo. 1688, and some who had signed it were dead in 
1691. 

The minutes of 27. 4mo. 1691, record that: 

"Griffith Ovv^en, with several of the Welch Friends, 
appeared for themselves, and other Inhabitants and those 
concerned in the Tract of Land of about 40,000 acres called 
the Welch ti-act, and did offer to pay quit-Rent from hence 
forward for the Yv'liole 40,000 acres, and thereupon Chal- 
lenged a Patent for the whole to themselves. 

"The Commiss'rs Ordered the Minute of the 2nd. 3rd mo. 
last [1691], about the same business to be read, which was 
accordingly done, and [informed] them it was now too late 
for them to alter that result, having passed their words 
Already to Confirm those Tracts to the purchasers that have 
been laid out within the said 40,000 acres, who are ready 
and willing to pay their quit-Rent from the time of [first] 
Survey. 

"Whereupon, it was Ordered a Warrant for takeing of 
the Caveats entered in Surveyor General's Office of the 
Lands within the said tract." 

Even while the Welsh Friends were present in the cham- 
ber, the Commissioners issued orders to a surveyor to lay 
out land in the Welsh Tract, for a dozen applicants, named 
in the minutes, thus adding insult to injury. The first who 
were accommodated were the pressing creditors of Penn, 
and it was thus he cancelled some of his obligations. The 

[385] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Commissioners also took some of the tract for themselves 
and friends, as also did the surveyor. 

This was the end of the "Welsh Tract." 

The hopes and plans for the New World, expressed in 
their several extant petitions, the Welsh Friends had to sur- 
render and forget "greatly in the cross." 

When the unoccupied land was put on the market, after 
the rush of the "insiders," there was a steady demand for 
it. Among the first to enter the tract, were Richard Snead, 
of the city of Bristol, linen draper, for 1,500 acres, William 
Pardoe, a merchant, and Francis Fisher, a glover, both of 
the city of Worcester, each buying 1,250 acres. But Penn, 
fearing that these English purchasers might be no more 
desirable than the Welsh speculators, issued an order not 
to sell more than 500 acres (and "no faster than it could 
be improved") to one purchaser, hence these and hundreds 
that followed had to be satisfied with that amount: — Tho- 
mas Brascy, John Hart, John Moore, John Finchner, &c. 

At this time, the original Welsh Friends became fright- 
ened even as to the tenure of the places they were then 
farming, and living upon, — their homesteads, and went be- 
fore the Land Commissioners, asking confirmation of their 
deeds, which, under the circumstances, was a wise thing 
to do. 

The Commissioners' minutes, 1 Dec, 1701, record their 
awakening, "for taking some Measures to regulate the 
Welsh Tract." "Some of the Chiefs of that Nation in this 
Province having met and Concerted the Methods to be taken 
in order to the Regulations. It was agreed (states the Min- 
ute of 22 Dec. following) : — 

"That, in as much as the Welch Purchasers of the Prop- 
r'ry were, by large Quantities of acres in one Pair of 
Deeds, granted to one or two persons only, under which 
several other Purchasers had a Share, the Gen'l Deeds of 
one Purchase should be first brought in, with an acco't of 
all other Persons who had a Share in such Purchase, also 
an account in whose possession the Respective Lands of 

[386] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

every under Purchase now are, and that, because all the 
Lands hitherto laid out (or most of them) in the said Tract 
were by Vertue of one Gen'l Warrant ; particularly Warr'ts 
of Resurvey should be granted to every Man upon what 
he now possesses, and that an exact account of all their 
Titles should be taken in distinct Minutes from these pres- 
ents, to be kept fair in a Book or Papers for that Puropse." 

Accordingly, at this meeting many of those who bought 
of Dr. Edward Jones and John Thomas ("Company No. 1"), 
appeared before the Commissioners, and had their deeds 
confirmed. And in Nov., 1702. these following also had 
their deeds examined and reconfirmed :— Rowland Ellis, for 
577 acres; Edward Jones, Sr., 402; Edward Jones, Jr., 125; 

Griffith Owen, ; Hugh Roberts, 338; John Roberts, 

262 ; Robert David, 346 ; Hugh Roberts, 441 ; Richard Jones, 
157; Evan Jones, 361; Ellis David, 409; Rees Jones, 587; 
Cadwalader Ellis, 310, &c. 

In Oct., 1701, Griffith Owen became a member of the 
Board of Commissioners of Property, when Penn ordered 
that each first purchaser should be deeded a lot in the city, 
hence, after this, we find the Welsh Friends city lot owners. 

The first surveys were roughly made, — land then was so 
abundant, but nearly ten years after the Welsh Friends 
were seated, accurate surveys of their lands were ordered 
for the tracts they claimed, because it was found that more 
land was claimed under the original surveys than the deeds 
called for, and this "overplus" reverted to Penn. The claim- 
ants, however, were generously permitted to buy the sur- 
plus from him at an advanced price. But if a located farm 
fell short of acreage called for by the deed, the owner was 
privileged to buy enough, wherever it could be had, and 
make it up after having once paid for the full amount ! Then 
frequently, in surveys of adjacent properties, none of the 
farms took in certain pieces of land (called "concealed 
land"), yet one or the other of the abutters supposed it was 
his, — this Penn took, too. 

[387] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Another unpleasant experience the early Welsh Friends 
had was over grist mills and saw mills they had erected. 

When the Welsh settlers for the Falls lands came, they 
brought enough wheat flour to last them, they supposed, 
till they could raise a crop, and build a water-mill on the 
creek, or at the Falls, for themselves. But great was their 
astonishment, when they learned that private grist and saw 
mills were taboo in the Province, and that "William Penn 
& Co." had the monopoly of all kinds of milling, and when 
the Welsh wanted grain ground they would have to pack 
it miles off to the Chester Creek to the "Proprietor's Mill." 

This, the Welsh felt was an imposition, but, as it was 
"not in the bond" that they should have water-mills, there 
was nothing for them to do, but to subm.it to Penn's greed. 

One of the earliest acts of Mr. Penn was to secure all mill 
rights to himself. He organized a milling corporation in 
1682, with thirty-two shares of stock (the celebrated Philip 
Ford subscribed for five shares), and allowed the man who 
was to set-up the "Government Mill," and the man selected 
to manage it, called "the Governor's Miller," have a few 
shares in payment for services, at prices fixed by himself. 
And, in 1682, he brought over Richard Townsend, with all 
the materials required to construct a grist and saw mill, to 
superintend its building, and then appointed Caleb Pusey, 
who had been sent on ahead to prospect, and was here when 
Penn and Townsend arrived, to manage it, collect the tolls, 
and remit to him. This mill was put up on Chester Creek, 
on "reserved mill land," protected by Penn's warrant. This 
was the first of the company's mills, and the start of a 
short lived "trust." 

Caleb Pusey may have been the official "government mil- 
ler," but as he was a last maker by trade, it may be pre- 
sumed that Mr. Townsend attended to the practical part of 
of the Government Mill. He made enough money for him- 
self out of this mill to build a good, old fashioned stone 
house. But it was the governor's miller, Mr. Pusey, who 
erected the "mansion house" (still standing, and tenanted 

[388] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

by Negroes at last account), about 1683. Even in the time 
of Pusey and Townsend, Pusey's house was not a good ex- 
ample of American "colonial architecture," it may be 
imagined, if we have any clear conception of what that style 
of architecture really was. Its beauty was certainly not 
enhanced by the hipped roof added by Samuel Shaw shortly 
before the '76 war. 

When the Welsh Friends found they had to patronize 
Penn's establishment if they wanted bread, those among 
them, who had lawyers's minds, thought they had found a 
way out of this method of paying tribute to their grasping 
over-lord, who enjoined all water-mills, and began to erect 
grain-grinding wind-mills! But Penn declared this was 
but a subterfuge ; an endeavor to evade paying him his 
income, and threatened the undertakers with the jail if they 
did not desist. But he gave them something to hope for, 
and to look forward to, when he graciously informed them 
that just as soon as the mills, in which he was a partner, 
were on a good paying basis, and the plants were paid for by 
the profits, he would possibly issue generally warrants for 
mill-rights, on terms yet to be determined by him. But 
in time, this mill matter regulated itself, and the Welsh 
had mills of their own. 

Besides the grist and saw mills on Merion's Mill Creek 
and the Schuylkill, there were two small ones in Haverford. 
The one on Cobb's Creek and the road which passed the 
Haverford Meeting House, is of record as early as in 1688. 
It must have been a small one, as, in 1695, it was valued 
for assessment at only £20, by the Grand Jury of Chester 
Co., while the Darby and Chester mills were valued at £100 
each. In that year, there were only five mills in Chester 
county. There was a second mill in Haverford, in 1703, on 
Darby Creek, where the Radnor and Chester road comes 
in, and it may have been there earlier, and have had the 
"mill way" lead to it which was ordered by the Chester 
Court, in 8mo., 1688, to be cut in Marple township. 

[389] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Another little unpleasantness, and near the last, between 
Penn and the Welsh Friends beyond the Schuylkill arose 
from Penn asserting his right was exclusive to any and 
every ferry across the Schuylkill, which ferries must be a 
source of revenue to him, either through receipts from 
leases, or ferriage. The wonder is that he did not place 
toll gates on the paths through the woods. 

Ever since the Welsh had settled on their land, they had 
had communication with the city, if they did not boat down 
the river, either by way of a ferry at the Falls, or, one 
at the end of the Haverford road — "the upper ferry," thence 
by path to where they wished to go, or by a path on the 
west side of the river, to opposite the Schuylkill end of the 
city, and then across the river, and through the woods to 
the village on the Delaware. This v/as known as the Center, 
or Middle Ferry, where the Welsh Friends, or their Month- 
ly Meeting, had a subsidized ferryman, and a flatboat to 
carry them, and their teams, forth and back, to market- 
fairs, and the assembly. 

But of course this could not go on long without someone 
coveting such a valuable franchise, or without Penn de- 
manding a share of the receipts. Therefore, on 29 April, 
1693, the Middle Ferry rights were granted by him to a 
Philip England (whose land laid nearest this ferry, and on 
the south side of the "road," adjoining the burial ground of 
the Welsh Friends, or Schuylkill Meeting, on the west side 
of the river), for which England was to pay him yearly, 
by way of lease, seven pounds. He got his ferry into work- 
ing order promptly, but had to compete with the Welsh- 
men's ferryman, who still continued doing business at the 
old stand, much to his annoyance and loss. 

But Philip did not put up long with this infringement 
and interference, and carried his protest into the Provin- 
cial Council, and according to the minutes, 7 Feb., 1693-4, 
he "petitioned," stating that he was "lawfully impowered" 
"to keep an ordinary and ferry att Skuillkill by the Pro- 
prietor, 16. 8mo., 1683, and that no one else was to trans- 

[390] 



■.»5«i- 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

port any one over the river for money, or gain, or reward, 
att or near his ferry." And then he told that the franchise 
was granted on a lease to him, 29 April, 1693, and "that 
from the first he conducted the ferry properly, transferrying 
people. Baggage, and Horses," and cited William Powel, a 
Welsh Friend, who owned 300 acres in "West Philadelphia," 
as a trespasser on his rights, because for a long time he had 
ferried here for money. 

Mr. Powel was sent for, and appeared before the Coun- 
cil on 18 July, 1693, and told the Councillors he was not the 
man they wanted, as he had sold out his boat and business 
"to certain people," who employed "Nathaniel Mullinox" (or 
"Mull," as the clerk wrote it) , to ferry them over the river. 
England urged that all this was still in contempt of his 
grant. 

But, according to the subsequent Council Minutes of 27 
June, 18 July, and 29 September, the matter was not yet 
settled to England's entire satisfaction, for he made the 
Council believe that Powel had not told the truth about his 
selling out, as he still acted so often as the ferryman. 
Finally, the Council got "Nate Mullenex" before them, and 
when asked who employed him, replied "that most of the 
people of Harford and Merion, and some of Darbie employed 
him to ferry, and that they were to pay him wages, and 
knew no reason why he ought not to earn a living this way." 
"And after some time, he brought in a list of names of 
some that employed him, namely— Evan Brothero, William 
Howell, Thomas Smith, William Smith, Morris Luellen, 
David Meredith, John Rhodes, William Warner, Humphrey 
Ellis, Ellis Ellis, Hugh Roberts, Robert Owen, Jno. Apowen, 
Richard Hayes, Adam Rhodes, Christopher Spray, David 
Lues, Lues David, David Ewer, John German, Hugh Shone, 
Evan Hendrie, William Garret, John Bennstone, and Sam- 
uel Lewes." 

As the Council knew that in this list were the names of 
some of the most respectable people of the Welsh Tract, and 
the adjoining Liberties, it convinced them that the extent of 

[391] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Nathaniel's custom wa^ a great injury to Philip, thereto re, 
"it was ordered the sd Nathaniel Mullinux be committed to 
the Common Goale of this County till he give Good and 
Sufficient security to the Lieutenant Governor that he shall 
ferrie no more persons, horses, or cattle, over the Skuillkill 
att William Povi^ell's for gift, hyer, or revi^ard, directlie or 
indirectlie. And that the said boat be forwith Seazed and 
secured by the Sheriffe till the owners thereof appear 
before the Lieuteant Governor, or give the like Securitie." 

1693-4, February 27th, the minutes state, "Appeared 
Robert Owen, and others of the Inhabitants beyond the 
Skuillkill, and claimed interest in the Boat, and stated that 
the transportation of themselves therein over the river did 
not precede from least Contempt to Authority, and requested 
the return of the Boat, so they would go to Meetings, fairs^ 
markets, elections, &c., and attend the Assembly." 

"Lest they pretend they were hindered from coming to 
election the Lieutenant Governor ordered the boat returned, 
and they could use it only for themselves, and take, or give 
no pay, untill the Governor came and decided. For which 
the committee returned William Markham, Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor, heartie thanks," and waited for Governor Fletcher's 
return to town. 

On 11 June, 1694, Governor Fletcher forbade the Welsh 
even using their own boat to cross the river, as Penn's ferry 
right should be observed. The Welsh asked for another 
ferry along side of England's with Mullineaux as ferryman, 
under a grant from Penn. This was referred to Penn's 
Commissioners, and pigeon-holed, and it was some time 
before Mullineaux was released. 

Four years after this, as Penn lost his milling monopoly, 
so he lost his ferry rights. It is of record that a to%vn 
meeting of the Welsh was held at the Haverford Meeting 
House, in 1694, to regulate certain matters of the Towns, 
and particularly the one of the Schuylkill ferry, at High 
Street. 

[392] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

It may be supposed that this monthy meeting moved 
the General Assembly to take some action in matter, because 
from its minutes, 24. 3mo. 1694, we learn that a committee 
was appointed by the Assembly "to inspect the Aggriev- 
ances of the Inhabitants, reported. That there was not more 
than one ferry allowed over the Schuylkill. That the seizing, 
or taking away the boat belonging to the Inhabitants of 
Haverford, Radnor, Merion, and Darby, is an Aggrievance, 
and of ill-tenancy to the Inhabitants of this Province." 

Subsequently, the minutes of the Havex"ford monthly meet- 
ing prove that this ferry was conducted, in 1698, by the 
Haverford Monthly Meeting (composed of the peculiar 
meetings of Merion, Haverford, and Radnor) , and that the 
revenue from the ferry was paid to this monthly meeting by 
the ferryman, "Nathaniel Mullenex," who was employed on 
a salary. The ferry was subsidized by these meetings, and 
any loss shared between them. On the last page of one of 
the minute books of the Haverford Mo. Mtg., is preserved 
"The Recept of Nath Mullinex, 1699, of the Inhabitants of 
Haverford, Radnor and Merion full satisfaction for my 
service at the ferry, and I do acquitt and discharge them in 
General and every of them in particular of the same." 

It was not until in 1721-2 that the Philadelphia city 
council awoke to the need of a well regulated ferry ov°r the 
Schuylkill, when a committee was appointed to examine a 
route "to the Middle Ferry of the Schuylkill through the 
woods," (probably the original woods beyond Broad Street, 
because on 2 Feb. 1705, it was ordered that "the city 
between Broad Street and the Delaware be grubbed, and 
cleaned from all its rubbish, in order to raise grass for 
pasture.") On 4 February, 1722, the city council ordered 
as to the "Schuylkill middle ferry" that "the Assembly be 
petioned for an Act to vest it in the city corporation, which 
should have sole management of it." This granted, the city 
council gave order to fix on a site for "a public ferry at the 
Schuylkill end of High Street." Shortly, in this year, a 
wharf-boat, or landing was placed on the city side, and 

[393] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

another on the "country side," and a license was given to 
John Maultsby to conduct this ferry under city control. 
In the Weekly Mercury, 18 December, 1728, Maultsby offered 
for sale the lease of "the Sculkil Ferry on High Street," 
saying the lease had sixteen years to run. But it was not 
until 30 September, 1723, that the city council ordered High 
Street opened to the "New Ferry," (only a few years pre- 
vious to this, "the seven streets of the city," on the Delaware 
side, were ordered "to be staked-out, so that people would 
not build houses in the streets.") The upper and the lower 
ferries still continued as private property. In 1762, there 
was still a ferry at High Street, over the Schuylkill, but 
during the Revolution, a floating-bridge was maintained. 

One other "little unpleasantness" (referred to elsewhere) 
between Penn and the Welsh purchasers, especially the 
original ones, those who interviewed him in May, 1681, and 
who bought, as they thought with the full understanding of 
the "Conditions," some of whom, if they did not help com- 
pile them, signed them, was about the land bonus, or con- 
cession of land, in the "great Town," or Philadelphia, in 
with their country purchases, the promise being, that every 
one who bought and paid for 500 acres in the country, 
should receive gratis ten acres in the city, "if space therein 
would allow it," that is, two per cent, on purchases of 500 
acres, or more, would be given to buyers of "country lots." 

After the sale of the 40,000 acres was made to the Welsh 
Friends, Penn saw the impossibility of giving away so 
much land in the city, as "space did not allow it." This was 
mortifying to the Welsh gentlemen, the first purchasers, the 
buyers of 5,000 acres in "country lots," or "one share, called 
a propriety." But to conciliate them and some others, Penn 
ordered 10,000 acres to be laid out "contiguous to city's 
site, as liberties," and in the said "town" (i.e. township), 
lying between the Schuylkill and the present city line on 
the west be agreed to give them 100 acres, with each pur- 
chase of 5,000 acres in the country, "out of that 10,000 
acres," and one small city lot. 

[394] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

But when some of the Welsh gentlemen came to ask the 
benefit of these new concessions, and that the bonus-land be 
conveyed to them, they experienced a surprise. They were 
informed that they were not purchasers on their own 
accounts of 5,000 acre "country lots," but only acted as 
"trustees," or agents, for the real purchasers, and that their 
shares, or those of their principals, none of them, of course 
amounted to 5,000 acres. This they couJd not deny, when 
they studied their deeds, so these received no bonus-lands, 
in large quantities, only some single city lots, on the south 
side of Chestnut Street, between 4th and 5th Streets, 
"reserved for the Welsh." 

Naturally, as in any colony, made up from all walks of 
life, there were some people who had better have not come 
for many reasons, and some who were disgruntled, and fault 
finding, and, of course, some too lazy to work and support 
themselves, and even some who thought they had been 
vulgarly cheated by William Penn. In this connection the 
two follov/ing extracts from letters are interesting, as they 
are the opinions of two men who passed through all the 
troubles experienced by the Welsh Friends in Pensylvania. 

Mr. Hugh Roberts, in one of his letters to William Penn, 
wrote, 

"My dear frd, it is well known unto thee that many of 
our ffrds in England, had hard thoughts of thee and we, 
because of our removal from that to this country, and I doe 
not thinke but they had som cause, for here cam som peopel 
that had not a right end in their removals, some for fere of 
persecution, som that were discontented with their 
brothern where they were, and others that promised to 
themselves to be great in the world. 

"I believe all these meet with great disappointments and 
som of them cam back unto England, others of you did 
send very bad reports, both of the cuntry and fl'rds, for they 
were not contented with fl'rds here, no more than they were 
in their native Land, and so when som ffrds in England 

[395] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

heard and perceved thes€ things, some were redy to con- 
clude that they had not mist in their first thoughts of us, 
but for all this I know here is many hundreds that cam 
here in the integrety of their hearts, and in a true sence of 
what they did, and never to this day had cause to repent nor 
repin, though they were very hard put to in the outward." 

And, in 1698, Mr. Rowland Ellis, of "Bryn Mawr," wrote 
to his son-in-law : 

"I desire yt none may take occasion by any word yt dis- 
covers, nor suppose if I do nor did repent of my coming, for 
be it far from me from encouraging any to venture ymselves, 
and what they have, furtherly they live comfortably in their 
native country, to ye danger of ye seas, and many more 
inconvenience yt may happen, and on ye other hand, dis- 
courage any yt hath any real inclinations to transport them- 
selves into ye hands of providence. Some came here might 
have better staid in their own country, and it is my thought 
yt great many more would have done better here yt ever 
they are like to do in their own counti-y." 

In a general way the principal is responsible for the acts 
of his agent, so the blame for ail of the disagreeable features 
of the first eight years of the experience of the Welsh in 
Pensylvania has been put on William Penn following con- 
temporary public records, and statements in private letters. 

Well, it may have been Penn's fault indirectly, and often 
times directly, that the Welsh Friends vi'ere badly treated, 
but, as all of his provincial affairs were mismanaged by 
him, during the time mentioned by this reason all of his 
colonists had to experience difl'erent degrees of annoyances. 

What was the reason William Penn lost his grip on his 
"province business," for certainly he started out brave 
enough? The answer I find to this, which is a matter con- 
cerning the Welsh Friends as much, if not more, as any, is 
that there was in these first eight years some greater and 
personal matters on his mind, besides the happiness of the 
Welsh. 

[396] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

One was the gay life he was leading in the King's com- 
pany, as we shall see, the other, there was "a skeleton in his 
house" about which he worried, knowing that, sooner or 
later, it would be discovered, when it would be imagined 
that he had been living a double-life and trying to account 
for it, be suspected of having done a thing that was quite 
in keeping with the then customs of the "high life" he was 
born to. 

The dread of the revelation was on his mind for years, 
for the peculiar position he held among Friends would make 
his conduct more reprehensible when it became general 
gossip. This v/as "eating the very heart out of him," but 
it was years before his friends knew it and more before they 
knew the reason. They discovered what he let them see ; if 
they supposed they saw more, they kept to themselves and 
his "greater secret" died with him. Anyone is at liberty to 
imagine what it was or if there was one; but here I give 
only the story of the "effect," as known to only a few when 
he told it, but which is now generally known. It is that of 
an alleged dishonest employee, one Philip Ford. 

The story goes that Ford, a young Quaker, had been an 
unsuccessful merchant in London when he applied to Penn 
for aid, and that Penn, taking pity on him, made him his 
steward for his Irish estates, at the salary of £40 a year, 
in 1669, and from then was most intimate with the Fords, 
though they were not his social equals. 

This may have been the cause of one of Penn's mottoes: 
— "Guard against encroaching friendships." 

In the summer of 1682, a few days before Penn set out 
for Pensylvania, Ford submitted a memorandum to him, 
claiming that Penn owed him a balance of £2851. 7.6., "On 
account salary arreares, money advanced, and expenses." 
Without taking time, as Penn subsequently confessed in 
Court, to examine the account, on Ford's suggestion, he also 
said, not having the money to pay, he signed, without even 
reading, "a due-bill and an acknowledgment of the debt," 

[397] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

as he supposed, which, much to his astonishment, he dis- 
covered subsequently was a deed of lease and release, dated 
24 August, 1682, for a grant of 300,000 acres of land to be 
laid out in Pensylvania, which conveyance should stand 
good unless he paid Ford £3.000 "within two days." And, 
for full security for the payment of this sum and interest it 
would draw, Penn also executed a bond in double the 
amount. 

Since Penn wrote James Logan, twenty-three years after- 
wards, when this matter was still unsettled, for him not to 
worry, as "Ford's business is only a mortgage," it may have 
been that Penn did suppose if he thought anything about it, 
that £3.000 (the indebtedness "in round number"), with 
bond and mortgage security. That is, a bond in double the 
amount of the "loan," and the mortgage on 300,000 acres, 
which valued at the price he then sold land, namely 5,000 
acres for £100, would equal the debt, and claimed to have 
had no knowledge that he would forfeit the land if the 
money was not paid within two days after date. Penn sailed 
on 31 Augsut, 1682, therefore he had time to take up the 
note, but did not do so. 

Here is where the queer part of this transaction is first 
introduced. It seems that without foreclosing this mort- 
gage, or cancelling the bill, Ford sold rights to the land in 
lots for a total of £8.000, and kept the money, and Penn 
said, when he returned to England, in 1684, Ford told him 
he then still owed him a balance of £4.293.3.0 ! Penn says 
he thereupon gave him £500 in cash on account, and, as 
security for the mysterious balance, after many delays, 
signed a note, dated 10 June, 1685, for £5.000, with interest, 
payable on or before 21. Imo., 1686-7, giving as security, 
what he supposed was an ordinary mortgage, but which 
was in fact a straight deed for 300,000 acres of land in 
Pensylvania, besides the grants of the manors of Penns- 
bury and Springettsbury, a manor in Chester Co., an 
island in the Delaware, and city lots, and all the revenue 
from the Pensylvania quit-rents! 

[398] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

No one has ever thought William Penn was a fool, nor 
suspected him of being ignorant of the simple forms of 
business papers and transactions, for there are too many 
instances to the contrary. At least, he has been supposed 
to have been gifted with considerable business acumen. 
Then, why did he allow himself to be imposed upon? Why 
did he tie himself up so with promisory notes, and convey 
away his property by deeds in this manner, are questions 
that have never been answered. The excuse of "implicit 
confidence in Ford" has been suggested. If so, it was an act 
of credulity past the understanding of worldly people. 

Looking at the matter from another point, the question is, 
did Ford and his wife have knowledge, since they were well 
acquainted with Penn, of some incident in his life, which 
would ruin him if exposed ? And, for this reason, they pro- 
ceeded to blackmail him? Or, if this was not the nature of 
influence they possessed, was it hypnotic control? What- 
ever it was, it caused Penn much unhappiness, for he was 
continually fearful of exposure, and he was ashamed to let 
his most intimate friends know that "he was in the clutches 
of a brace of sharpers," as the Fords have somewhere been 
defined. 

Because, after Ford's death, his widow was so vindica- 
tive towards Penn, it has been presumed that she was all 
along the master mind in getting Penn into this compro- 
mising position, and that Mr. Ford acted under her 
instructions. 

When Philip Ford, "late of Alisbury, County of Bucks, 
near London," applied to his meeting, the Upper Side of 
Bucks monthly meeting, on 4. 7mo., 1672, for a certificate 
of good character addressed to the men's meeting, London, 
having declared his intention of marriage with one Bridget 
Gosnell (Gosnel, or Gosnold, as her name was variously 
written), of London, William Penn was one of the signers 
of it. 

[399] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Penn attended their wedding, on 24. 8mo., 1672, at the 
Bull and Mouth meeting, in London, of which Philip and 
Bridget were members. 

Ford stood high in the estimation of English Friends 
from this time till his death. In 1676, he was one of the 
Friends in Hereford, appointed by the yearly meeting, to 
whom Friends in the county "afflicted with sufferings" 
should report. And from the minutes of the Upper Side of 
Bucks m.onthly meeting, 1679, llmo. 7, and 1680, 2mo. 7, it 
appears he was the one selected to take the contributions to 
James Claypool, in London, and, as late as 1686, 9mo., he 
was one of the Friends appointed by the yearly meeting, at 
London, to receive contributions from monthly meetings. 
According to a circular of the Free Society of Traders in 
Pensylvania, dated 25 March, 1682, "Philip Ford in Bow 
Lane, near Cheap Side," London, was their agent to receive 
subscriptions to the shares of this company, so dear to the 
heart of William Penn, because it advertised and "boomed" 
his province land sales. Therefore, Friends of all classes 
must have had great confidence in Ford, and the "mighty 
secret" between him and Penn was kept well hidden. 

*This company, often referred to, was organized for the purpose of 
"trade, ma'nufacture and commerce in and with Pensylvania." Its 
first meeting was held in London, in 3mo. 1682. Future meetings were 
"to be held on the first Thursday in November, in the Capital city of 
Pensylvania." 

This "society of traders" had extraordinary privileges. Among 
these, it was invested with "the lordship of the manor of Frank," 
and was to have three representatives sit in the Pensylvania 
Assembly, under its original charter, mapped out by Penn himself, 
for it was one of his pet schemes by which to sell his land, and build 
up some outside trade for his province, even "with the Emperour of 
Canada," besides among the Le'nni Lenapes, which was ratified in 
London, 5 May, 1682, by the largest land purchasers, at the same 
time, with Penn's consent, when they "adopted" the Laws he had 
proposed for them for the better government of his Province. The 
capital stock was £5400, and although the shares were put "on the 
market" in March, 1682, they were all subscribed for by 26 April 
following. £50 subscribers, or purchasers of two shares, were each to 
be entitled to a vote on the management. But anyone living in The 

[400] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

To resume the story, when the note of 10 June, 1685, 
came due, 21 March, 1686-7, Penn did not pay it, and on 
11 April, 1687, gave another note for £6.000 (as the 
"balance due," Ford told him, Vv^as £5.282.9.8), without re- 
ceiving the previous note, he said. For security of the pay- 
ment of this new note, payable one year from date, Penn 
executed a bond, and a deed by which he gave Ford a "Welsh 
mortgage," on his entire Province (without destroying the 
previous mortgages) , at the quit-rent of one peppercorn 
annually. Neither did Penn take up this note. All this 
time Ford was acting as Penn's "Irish agent," and paying 
himself out of receipts. Penn must have been dumbfounded, 
when on 11 October, 1689, Ford rendered an account to him 
of his stewardship, and Penn learned from it that he owed 
Ford a grand total of £20.333.19.2! However, Penn 
marked the account 0. K. and ratified the obligation. 
Then Philip and Bridget let Penn alone till in August, 1690, 



Province, who owned there 1,000 actes of "inhabited land," and who 
subscribed £100 was to be entitled to two votes; £300 subscribers 
could vote three times. However, when the charter came before 
the Pensylvania Assembly for confirmation, the grandure of 
the Society was considerable curtailed when it was made Free, 
and it was so "free" to do as it, or Penn had hoped and the 
final facts are, that, though great promises were made towards 
the development of the commercial side of Penn's domain, the only 
act positively accomplished was to buy 20,000 acres of country land 
from Mr. Penn, and 400 acres in his city, laying between the two 
rivers, below Walnut street, and selling on long credit some cargoes 
of goods for which the Society had paid "good money," the bills for 
which were never paid, because being strict Quakers they were not 
"sued out," and by May, 1684, the Society had no money in its treasury, 
and no income so it "went out of business," and it was wound up 
officially by the Pensylvania Assembly, in 1722-3, without ever declar- 
ing a dividend. Several times before this, certain English shareholders 
publicly demanded an investigation and accounting of the Society, but 
there could not be found anyone on whom to "serve the papers." The 
promoters of the Society apparently got rid of their holdings while 
the "boom was on," for they strongly recommended the shares for 
permanent investment, and the inventories of their personal estates 
do not show that they had any of this company's stock. 

[401] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVAmA 

when for further security for the debt, which accumulated 
fast, because Ford compounded the interest every six 
months, and charged Penn commission on both receipts 
(which he kept) and expenditures managing the Irish 
estates, they demanded, and received the release from Penn 
of ail equity of redemption in the mortgage of 10 April, 
1G87. In the following month, Ford demanded that Penn 
pay him on account £6.900 cash. However, as Penn could 
not raise the money. Ford induced him to make to him a 
conveyance of his entire Province v/ithout defeasance ! Was 
it blackmail, hypnotism., or credulity that influenced Penn? 

At this time, Penn seemed to be letting Ford manage for 
him. In his advertisement of 1690, headed Some Proposals 
for a Second Settlement in the Province of Pensylvania, 
telling "there being above One Thousand Houses finished" 
in Philadelphia, put out when trying to dispose of the shares 
in the proposed sister city out on the Susquehannah, which 
could be reach easily via "boat on ye River Scoalkill," that 
those desiring shares, should direct their applications "to 
Robert Ness Scrivener in Lumber-Street in London for 
Philip Ford." In letters, 6. 4mo., 1687 and 10. 4mo., 1691 
to Thomas Lloyd, Penn desired him to send reports directly 
to Ford. 

In 1693, when the Provincial government became a scan- 
dal, and Penn was under suspicion at Court, and his Pro- 
vince was taken charge of by the Crown, with Fletcher 
appointed Governor ('twas then the Welsh Friends sent a 
letter facetiously addressed, "William Penn Improprietor 
of Pencilvania," &c.), the Fords thought it a triclc of Penn's 
to shake them off, and commanded him to raise £10.000 
cash within six months, and on payment thereof they prom- 
ised they would give him a receipt in full of all accounts 
(as he had paid them cash on account at divers times, and 
thus reduced the £20.000 considerably, in spite of the com- 
pound interest, &c., and at the same time confirmed the 

[402] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

debt) , otherwise they "would expose him," — whether in the 
matter of this "debt," or some other particular, it is not 
known. 

Thereupon in this emergency, Penn wrote an old friend 
in Philadelphia, Robert Turner, and begged him to per- 
suade one hundred of the Pensylvania Friends to each con- 
tribute £100 towards a pui"se of £10.000, and lend it to 
him, as he was "hard pushed for cash just then," because 
his "Irish affairs were wretched." After some correspond- 
ence, nothing came of this request. The "city Friends" 
in the Province wanted security, which Penn could not give, 
and the rich Welsh Friends of the "barony" had too many 
grievances to be adjusted by Penn to listen to his troubles. 

However, when Penn told the Fords of his failure to 
raise the money, they did not "expose him," but instead took 
new notes, with interest due eveiy six months (vv^hich was 
his choice, possibly), until the total sum was appalling to 
Penn. This blackmail, or debt went on piling up for four 
years, Penn feeding cash to the Fords when able, or until 
Parliament laid the tax on money at interest, in 1697, when 
Ford told Penn he would either have to pay the tax, or give 
him as security an indenture of absolute release and con- 
firmation, and turn over to him the Royal Charter, and the 
deeds of enfeoffment, making the conveyance of Pensyl- 
vania absolute, when Ford would lease the Province to him 
at an annual rent, equalling the compound interest reck- 
oned each six months on the accrued indebtedness, all well 
secured, and that this transaction should be kept secret; 
Penn still appearing as sole owner, and himself continue 
the sales of land, but to turn over to him (Ford) the pro- 
ceeds as received, and in this way Penn could evade the tax. 
Penn may have protested this duplicity, but he agreed to 
this arrangement on 1 April, 1697, as he stated in Court. 

This was the state of Penn's affairs when he arranged to 
visit Pensylvania the second time. When he went to say 
farewell to Mr. and Mrs. Ford, in August, 1699, they in- 
sisted that he give them, which he did, a signed statement, 

[403] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

saying in effect, that he had carefully examined all of Ford's 
accounts against him, and all transactions between them, 
and had never found any errors, or misstatements, in them, 
and that by this document he released Ford from all obliga- 
tions to him. 

Shortly after Penn arrived in Pensylvania, Philip Ford 
died. By his will be devised to Bridget, his wife, and 
executrix, and trustees, all of the province of Pensylvania, 
and its territories, and instructed that the "province" be 
sold for the benefit of his wife and children, unless Penn 
paid his executors within six months, £11.194.8.3 (Ford was 
always particular to include shillings, and even pence, in 
his claims, to make them business like), and all debts, and 
arrears of rent of the Province, interest, &c. Should Penn 
do this, then the Province, &c., would be reconveyed to him. 
But if William Penn himself was then deceased, his heir 
should not have this privilege, or any equity of redemption. 

Mr. Ford's son and heir, Philip, Jr., now took up the 
system of blackmailing Penn, under his mother's instruc- 
tions it is presumed, and frequently, in America and in 
England, went to Penn and demanded cash, always 
threatening to "expose him" if it was not given, and it 
always was. This went on, with variations, until Penn 
simply could not stand it any longer, and in 1705, had to 
acknowledge before the London Yearly Meeting that he 
needed advice on a private matter. A committee was ap- 
pointed, and to it Penn complained that Bridget Ford was 
annoying him about a little money he owed her, and was 
just them unable to pay, and asked that the committee 
should request her to desist from persecuting him, until the 
matter could be adjusted. "Only this, and nothing more." 
But the Fords, although Friends in good standing, positively 
declined to be interfered with by the committee, in the col- 
lection of money due them, so they were promptly "silenced"" 
until they yielded, or were more "tender." 

[404] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

This brought out from Penn a partial statement of his 
secret affairs to the committee, and on their advice, though 
against "teachings," proceeded against the Fords by a bill 
in the Court of Chancery. He pleaded "fraud," and extor- 
tion; admitting he owed them something, but that he did 
not owe them anything like the amount they claimed, and 
by the greatest liberality the balance of his debt was then 
only £4.300, and this he was willing to pay, and no more, 
and requested the release of all security he had given upon 
payment. 

But the Fords backed up their claim with the paper Penn 
in fright, had signed in Aug. 1699, acknowledging their 
accounts were correct in every particular, so the matter of 
fact Chancellor decided against Penn, and put the costs of 
the suit on him, and required him to enter bond for pay- 
ment. Penn appealed, but again lost, as can be imagined 
for his evidence was meagre. Now, the Fords considered 
themselves in complete ownership of Pensylvania, and 
instructed David Lloyd, and others in Philadelphia, to remit 
rents, &c., only to them, and to sell the "Province" at the 
best advantage. At home, the Fords entered suit in the 
Common Pleas Court against Penn for arrears of rent of 
the Province since April 1697. 

It was at this juncture of this remarkable affair that 
Judge Isaac Norris came over from Philadelphia to learn 
the true nature of Penn's difficulty with the Fords, for 
Philip, Jr., had been in Philadelphia, and had told some 
queer stories about "Father Penn." The Judge does not 
seem to have learned from Penn the "true inwardness" of 
the difficulty; but he told Penn he must give good security 
guai-anteeing the titles to all the land he had sold since 1 
April, 1697, else trouble would arise for him when it was 
discovered he had concealed the gravity of his affairs. 
(Penn even deceived his most intimate friend, James Logan, 
for as late as in 1705, he wrote him, "Ford's business is only 
a Mortgage.") Penn replied to Norris, that there was no 
occasion for this, as "Ford approved of all his sales." 

[405] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

While Judge Norris was in London, the Fords won their 
last suit, and got judgment for about £3.000, for rental due, 
on account of "Penn's Province." and as Penn could not pay, 
or furnish security for this sum, he was committed to the 
Fleet prison till he could do one or the other. It is said he 
led an humble life in the Fleet, holding almost daily meet- 
ings. 

The next move of the Fords was to petition the Queen, 
asking to be confirmed not only in possession of Pensyl- 
vania, but in the government of the province. On advice 
of her council, the petition was dismissed, for a technicality, 
and "political reasons," and this was the beginning of the 
end of the persecution by the Fords, for shortly afterwards. 
Judge Norris, after many rebuffs, prevailed on Bridget, 
and her son, to come to terms, and accept a certain sum in 
cash, which he raised among eight Friends, in England and 
Ireland, to whom Penn executed a "blanket mortgage" on 
Pensylvania for security, and on 5 Oct. 1708, executed a 
deed of release for Pensylvania, when Penn was liberated 
not only from jail, but from the clutches of Bridget, and his 
heart-sickness. 

What was William Penn doing with himself all these 
years, that his time was so occupied he could not consider 
the complaints of the Y/elsh Friends in his province, or even 
had time to investigate Ford's accounts, or block his black- 
mail, if it was that? In a letter, dated London, 28. Imo., 
1688, Penn wrote to Gov. Lloyd, "I am here serveing god." 

Thei'e is good evidence that during the remaining four 
months of Charles' reign, after Penn returned from his 
first visit to his American possessions, he was a prominent 
figure in the inner circle of his gay court, for, although not 
ennobled, Penn was of the elect, being the governor of a 
province of the Crown. At this time, having the ear of the 
king, the Friends in difficulties, and there were hundreds of 
these in England, Wales, and Ireland, being harrassed and 
imprisoned on slight provocations, naturally made appeals 
through him, but as Charles was inimical towards all dis- 

[406] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

senters, Penn, fearing his displeasure, made them only 
promises of aid. This did not take up much of his time, 
though it made him feel his importance. During these 
months, and subsequently, as a "pardon broker" it may be 
presumed, and there is evidence of its being so, that he only 
used his influence with the king on condition that the peti- 
tioners bought land from him, his quid pro quo, for those 
forgiven for their offenses soon transported themselves and 
families to his province, following his good advice. 

Through these months, Penn followed his queer life, — 
publicly a courtier, privately a minister among Friends ; or, 
outwardly a provincial potentate, prominent in the gayest 
Court of Christendom., otherwise, an accepted preacher at 
Quaker Meetings, held secretly in obscure places; living 
openly in great style, though vexed by poverty, and all the 
time in the clutch of Bridget Ford. Penn was then not 
forty years old, and according to description, still debon- 
naire, and of youthful, handsome presence, and a thorough 
aristocrat. 

During these m.onths. King Charles' brother James, 
Duke of York, and one of the greatest American land 
owners, a strict Romanist, was Penn's intimate at Court, 
and when he unexpectedly succeeded to the throne in Feb. 
1685, Penn's position at Court was assured, so he continued 
his "high life" and "humble teachings" without interrup- 
tion, incidentally corresponding with his far-off "holy ex- 
periment," for he dearly loved letter-writing and dictating 
to his colonists, and permitting himself to be everlastingly 
fleeced by the Fords. But, as this is not a biography of the 
great William Penn, it is unnecssary here to give the details 
of his life in the Roman Catholic atmosphere of James' 
Court, and show how he allowed himself to be used by the 
Brethern of the Society of Jesus to carry out their plans for 
reinstatement, craftily, if not legally, in England, through 
the king with whom they knew he had influence, while it is 
alleged he supposed he was doing only great service to the 
Quakers, as their go-between and pardon broker. At least 

[407] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

this is what he wished the Friends to believe of him, for this 
was when he was being suspected, possibly justly, of a 
leaning, if not conversion, to Jesuitism, because of his 
marked intimacy with the Catholic monarch, and the lead- 
ing Jesuits. The suspicion was so general that even his 
"friend," Philip Ford, put out a "broadside" (London, 
1683), headed "Vindication of William Penn from late 
Aspersions spread abroad on purpose to Defame him." 
Ford denied that Penn had become a Catholic. 

To be a courtier and the king's intimate, Penn was 
obliged to live the life. He resided in a great mansion, the 
Holland House, which he rented furnished from the Earl of 
Warwick, and rode in his "coach of four," and gave ex- 
pensive entertainments at his mansion to fellow courtiers, 
"top-company" as he used to call these guests. Then, dof- 
fing his silk and lace, he would simplify his clothes to some- 
thing similar to recognized "Quaker garb," and slip off to a 
meeting and lecture on the doctrine of humility. He was in 
the zenith of his enjoyment when his far-away colonists 
urged him to come over, live among them, and exercise his 
gubernative authority in his province. But he had no in- 
tention of going, unless, as he wrote, he could transplant 
and continue his surroundings, the colonists to furnish the 
money to pay for it all, servants, coaches, barges, wines, 
and company, for this petty king would have a court circle. 

Several times when Penn had slipped off to attend secret 
Quaker m.eetings in London, he was captured there, along 
with the others, and taken before a magistrate, and paying 
the usual fine, returned to his mansion, his fellow courtiers, 
or the Court, as if he had had no adventure. The Jesuit 
Fathers, of course, knew of his dual life, but it was no busi- 
ness of theirs, since in obtaining exemptions and privileges 
for the Friends, and other non-conformists, was the same as 
if he worked for the Catholics, for they participated in them 
directly. These concessions meant more to them than to the 
Quakers and others, and in time led up to the important 
Declaration of Indulgence, granted by the King, in 1687. 

[408] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

Penn's companions were as varied as his life, at this 
period. He was intimate with the Catholic King (on 17. 
7mo., 1687, he wrote to the Commissioners, Philadelphia, 
"I am just come off a Progress with ye King through 
ye west & northwest part of ye kingdom") ; with 
the prominent Jesuits; with the notorious Earl of 
Sunderland; with the schem.ing, crafty Father Petre, and 
v/as used to do the plotting for James, the Romanist, at the 
Court of William, the Protestant, and at the same time, he 
was chummy with Henry Sydney, who plotted to oust James 
and seat William of Orange, and with Algernon Sydney, 
the executed anarchist. But Penn's adherence to his old 
friend, the Catholic king, is notorious, for there is his 
pamphlet entitled "Good Advice to Roman Catholics and 
Protestant Dissenters," as evidence. That he aided and 
abetted Catholic ascendency in England in getting relief 
for Friends was unfortunate, as it placed him in a peculiar 
position, for the American Friends openly accused him of 
being under Jesuitical influence, and asked him if it was, 
as rumored, "have you become a Roman Catholic?" (In 
after years, when the disputes began and prevailed between 
two branches of the Friends, the believers and followers of 
the teachings of Elias Hicks, and those who did not believe 
in the matters of faith and doctrine which he preached, it 
was advanced by the former section, as an arguement that 
Hicks was in the right, and his teachings was the belief of 
the original Friends, those of the apostles George Fox, John 
ap John, &c., which he hoped to re-establish, else why were 
the Friends of Penn's day so worked up when they thought 
he leaned towards the teaching of the Church of Rome, and 
was so intimate with the Jesuit priests?) 

During these days of political intriguing, pretending to 
work in Friends' interests he was laboring for those of the 
Catholics, or visa versa, whichever way you choose to look at 
the employment, what did Penn care that the Welsh Friends 
on the Schuylkill were disappointed in him. He ignored 

[409] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

their complaints. What did he, living in kingly company, 
with his head in royal clouds, care whether or not, the Welsh 
had to go miles to have flour made, were deprived of their 
ferry, had their lands confiscated by his agents, were juggled 
out of bonus, or liberty lands, and city lots, or, whether 
or not, the Welsh Tract was cut to pieces, and divided 
between two counties. All items of almost vital interest to 
the Welsh Friends in his province, and which, through his 
indifference lost them the autonomy which they had good 
reason to think should have been assured to them. But all 
he thought of then was "William Penn," first, last, and all 
the time, in these days of his pomp and pride, how to keep 
up appearances, how to find the money to meet the expenses 
of Court life, and how to support the machinery of his pro- 
vince in proper style, so that his "holy experiment" should 
appear successful to his fellow courtiers, and not give them 
opportunity to ridicule him. The wonder is, whence came 
the money to meet all of these expenses, the necessities along 
with the luxuries? Ford, as his steward, he subsequently 
testified in Court, stole all the revenue from the estates of 
his inheritance, and also for years during this period, appro- 
priated as his own, the bulk of the receipts from Pensyl- 
vania land sales, for it has been figured out that previous to 
1712, Penn personally received in cash from land sales only 
£10.645. But two conditions can be imagined, either that 
Penn was fairly wallowing in debts through the reigns of 
Charles and James, or what he said of Ford was false, 
unless we wish to imagine a third, namely, as the secret 
agent at Court of the Pope he had an assured income to 
pay for all these luxuries. 

When James was deposed in the Revolution, and William 
and Mary seated, Penn, the "Jacobite Quaker," spoke freely 
of the liberty and peace the Friends had enjoyed under 
James through his efforts, and ridiculed the charge that he 
was tricked, and used to negotiate Catholic interests in 
England, when he got relief for the Quakers. He wrote a 
celebrated letter to the Com^mittee on Trade and Planta- 

[410] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

tions, in reply to one from its secretary, accusing him of 
being a Jesuit. It was a manly explanation of his position 
at the Court of St. James, but his position among Friends 
was weakened because he had put himself in a situation 
that required explanation, and it took years of altered living 
to regain their esteem. 

Penn's first experience under the Protestant king was 
unpleasant. He was arrested and taken before the Privy 
Council to answer the charge of treason, and of "being a 
Jesuit and a Papist." He was placed under bond to stand 
trial, but for some reason, possibly the lack of witnesses, 
the case was not reached before the Toleration Act ended 
all persecution on account of religion. However, though 
this charge was dropped, Penn was no longer a persona 
grata at Court, because of his continued intimacy with the 
deposed James, in France, and the Jesuits in England. 

A year after this, in the Spring of 1690, a letter from 
James to Penn was intercepted and read, in which the 
former king asked him "to come to his assistance," in what 
matter the Privy Council was uncertain, but determined to 
find out, so Penn was ordered before it to explain. The 
out-come was as in the previous case. But in July follow- 
ing, when plots against William and Mary were prevalent, 
Penn was made the special subject of a royal proclamation, 
and again arrested, as before, "on suspicion of being a 
traitor." He was imprisoned, but not brought to trial for 
want of sufficient evidence, and was finally released, but 
placed under surveillance, because he persisted in saying 
James was his dearest friend, and the good angel of the 
Friends. 

Penn now not being a courtier, but a suspect, and having 
nothing to entertain him, again turned his attention to 
lecturing among the Friends, and preached Fox's funeral 
sermon, on 16 Jan. 1690. During the services, he got the 
tip that a warrant was out for his arrest again, and slipped 
away from this function, went into hiding, and did not 
come out into the open for three years. Why he fled and 

[411] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

hid, can only be guessed, — he let the people of his province 
suppose it was on account of the same old thing, his religion, 
although Quakers were not being persecuted then. Where 
he went to, and laid concealed these three years, a fugitive, 
he gives us no definite information. He certainly was 
frightened this time, for he knew that one of the men 
arrested with him, the last time he was captui'ed, was ex- 
ecuted for treason on slight evidence. Then, too, at this 
time, there were many Jacobite plots afloat, known to the 
Privy Council. The Government knowing that Penn was 
personally acquainted with these schemers, easily imagined 
that he might know the plans of the leaders, and when 
these men were captured, and executed for treason, declared 
that "Penn the Quaker" was one with them, knowing this, 
he thought it best to abscond, lay low till possibly James 
would come to his own again. 

Wheresoever Penn hid may have been known to very few, 
but he secretly kept in touch with certain Friends' Meet- 
ings, and the leading men of his province, and was in secret 
correspondence with relatives at Court, asking them to beg 
the king to stop hounding him, and let him live the life of 
a harmless, peaceful Quaker. 

Now it was that Penn found himself so pushed that he 
threatened to turn at bay. [Penn was the true son of his 
father, a man of spunk always, as witness his reproof, in 
1683, of Jasper Yates, a captious Quaker, who complained 
of the authority Penn claimed in Pensylvania, writing, 
"No, Jasper, thy conceit is neither religious, politic, nor 
equal, and, without high words, I disregard it as meddling, 
intruding, and presumptious"] . His menace being, that if 
the king did not desist he would have "reason to regret his 
action." What was the nature of this threat has not been 
preserved, but it was more likely a political than a personal 
matter. Unfortunately, there are many gaps in the public 
records of this period. 

Whatever was the ultimatum Penn had in mind, it either 
fell flat, or may be suggested in the following item of an 

[412] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

extant diary of that day, under 18 Sep. 1691, "William 
Penn the Quaker is got off from Shoreham in Sussex, and 
gone to France." ("Diary of Narcissus Lutteral," II. 286). 
Many have guessed where in France, or on the continent, 
Penn went, and what company he kept there, but this year 
of his life is a blank as far as we are concerned, as he left 
no details relating it. The first we hear of him after his 
departure is in a letter to Robert Turner, Philadelphia, 
dated at London, 29 Nov. 1692. "I have been above these 
three years hunted up and down, and could never be allowed 
to live quietly in city or country," wrote the fugitive in 
another letter, undated, on matters of faith and religion. 

Old-time friends of Penn by this time had risen to favor 
at Court, and through them Penn petitioned, and they con- 
vinced the king that he was not the dangerous man the 
Privy Council would have him thought, so we read again in 
this same Diary, under 5 Dec. 1693, "William Penn the 
Quaker, having for some time absconded, and having com- 
promised the matters against him, appears now in public, 
and on Friday last held forth at the Bull and Mouth [a 
Friends' Meeting was there], in St. Martin's [parish, 
London] ." 

Penn, in a letter written at this time, says: — "From the 
Secretary [of State, after his "compromise," or acquital] 
I went to our Meeting at the Bull and Mouth, thence to visit 
the sanctuary of my solitude," the secret place of refuge 
"from justice" where he hid so long, and which has never 
been discovered. Even Ford did not know where Penn was, 
as it may be seen there was no "transactions" between them 
in these several years, but the interest went on piling up 
day and night. From this time, Penn, although having the 
entree at the Court of Anne, returned to, or rather assumed 
the mode of life exampled by the religious Society of 
Friends, and meddled no more in national politics. 

This little sketch of Penn's life, during seven early years 
that Ford and wife dominated, if not black-mailed him, 

[413] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

shows no excuse for his allowing them to go on as they did, 
nor any for his turning his baclc on the Welsh Friends he 
had induced, by certain promises to remove to his province. 
But the last three years, when he was a fugitive, should 
be an excuse for him in both cases. After this, when he 
became "a living Quaker," his life yields no excuse, so far 
as the Welsh are concerned, and we have seen what 
happened in the Ford's matter. 

As a summary to the aforesaid statements, it may be of 
interest to read here what the editor of the History of 
Haverford College (1892), wrote of the same, "These 
worthy people" [the Welsh] he said, "had emigrated to the 
new world with the desire to live quietly and apart from 
the people around them. Gov. Penn had given them some 
reason to expect their wishes would be gratified. In a letter 
of instruction to the surveyor-general, he directed that the 
Welsh tract should be laid out in accordance with the under- 
standing with them, i. e. contiguously as one barony; the 
intention of the Welshmen being to conduct their own 
affairs separately from the rest of the colony, and in their 
own language, as a county palatine. Tempted by the pros- 
pect of peace and quietness in the new land, the settlers 
swarmed over. * * * * During the sad days of financial 
distress which darkened Penn's declining years, however, 
he wrote to his agents to be vigorous in the collection of the 
quit-rent, whereupon, in their zeal, the rents were assessed 
upon the whole 40,000 acres, heretofore exempt, * * * 
and in spite of the original assurance of the Proprietary 
himself, a line was run between Philadelphia and Chester 
counties, which divided the Welsh Tract in two parts. A 
pathetic appeal was made from what they at least regarded 
as a grave act of injustice. * * * * Their spirited claim 
did not avail, and the reservation was thrown open for 
settlement by others. Doubtless it seemed to them an act 
of glaring wrong, and seriously marred their pleasant 
pictures; but it is a striking commentary on the oblitera- 
tions wrought by time, that these ancient Britons are now 

[414] 



WELSH TRACT AFFAIRS 

completely merged, and all lines between them and their 
English speaking neighbors have vanished; no distinction 
remaining save the old Welsh names. The early dissen- 
sions, probably, account for the quiet obscurity of the 
annals of this part of the colony, of vi^hich we hear little, and 
the Welsh settlers were not, perhaps, much in accord with 
William Penn." 



[415 



ALLIED WELSH TOWNS 

OF PENSYLVANIA 



WELSH TRACT TOWNSHIPS. 

While reviews of these origins are interesting, we should 
not forget that much quite as engaging in other ways has 
occurred in the same localities, since the Welsh settlement 
was made, in more than two centuries, when Evan Oliver 
was the official wood-ranger in Merion, and when ear-mark- 
ed cattle and swine roamed at large in the fenceless wilds 
of the plantations beyond the Schuylkill. In this cradle, 
under Welsh Friends' influences and teachings, were nursed 
the Welsh forebears of many noted men and women, who 
helped in various ways to uplift the Commonwealth and 
its metropolis, the names of hundreds of whom it should 
be invidious to relate, whose descendants returned, after 
many years, with riches and refined tastes, to the "old 
home," and bought back the desirable portions of their 
Welsh ancestors' holdings, — the "home fields" of the pioneer 
planters, and beautified them till the "Main Line" district 
has become justly celebrated for its improvements the world 
over. And these descendants are more proud of these Welsh 
farmer, Quaker ancestors than any of their others of equal 
date, for always has there been more pride in a farmer 
ancestor, was he a small or a large land owner, than in one 
following a trade.* 



*From the Philadelphia tax list, for the year 1771-2, preserved at 
the Pa. Historical Society, can be learned the kind of trade, for they 
haa to "live," of the progenitors of a multitude of Philadelphia fam- 
ilies, more or less prominent, and this old book sliould be valuable 
data for family historians. Space permits only a few extracts, but 
I can give enough instances to suggest that there were very few in 
the city who wrote themselves "Gentleman" in 1772: — Gunning Bed- 
ford, James Bringhurst, Benjamin Loxley, Edward Stretcher, John 
Keen, Benjamin Shoemaker, William Lownes, Josiah Matlock, Richard 
Amiett, Joseph and Samuel Wetherill, Edward Bonsell, James Shars- 

[419] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Lying adjacent to the city of Philadelphia, (or Penn's 
Liberties, or old Blockley township's 7,580 acres), which 
has grown to its bounds,* the lands of the Welsh settlers 
it may be seen are naturally advantageously situated for 
great and greater improvement. And to further enhance 
the value of these lands bought from Penn for a few 
shillings an acre, and to make them most accessible as a 
residential section, within a few minutes of the heart of the 
business district of the city, there are two great "steam 
roads," an "electric road," a "trolley line," and two broad, 
well-kept avenues for "limousines." Yet; strange to relate, 
these advantages and possibilities in the "country lots." 
received general recognition only a few years ago, and the 
greatest changes in the "Seven Companies' " tracts have 
occurred only in the last twenty-five years, v/hen farms dis- 



wood, James Cresson, Isaac Lobdale, &c., were carpenters; Joseph 
Bringhurst, and William Shippen, coopers; Joseph Claypoole, Ben- 
jamin Horner, Thomas Cuthbert, Jr., Jonathan Wainwright, and 
David Bacon, were hatters; William Lippincott, Christopher Sellers, 
Robert Bailey, James Welch, John McCalla, &c., tailors; Benjamin 
Rundolph, Alexander Frazier, George Claypoole, were joiners; John 
Guest, Andrew Filler, John Hood, Jr., and Benjamin Paschall, were 
cordwainers; John Spencer, the butcher; John Drinker, and Thomas 
Hallowell, bricklayers; Henry Neill, Joseph Frazier, Thomas Middle- 
ton, and Henry Lisle, were bakers; William Bedford, the sadler; 
James Claypoole, the glazier; Isaac Snowden, and Benjamin Sharp- 
less, tanners; Benjamin Shoemaker, distiller; Jonathan Shoemaker, 
blacksmith; John Biddle, and Abraham Wayne, tavern keepers; John 
Snowden, potter; Thomas Cuthbert, mast maker; Philip Syng, gold- 
smith; and some of the shopkeepers were George Sharswood, Blair 
McClanachan, William Turnbull, Edward and George Bartram, Cle- 
ment Biddle, Geo. Anthony Morris, &c. 

*Pownall in his journal, journeying from Philadelphia to the 
Susquehanna in 1754, says: — Crossed the Schuylkill at Coalters' 
Ferry. "All plots of this town represent it as extending from the 
Delaware to the Schuylkill. That this town should ever have such an 
extent is impossible. It does not now extend one-third of the way, 
those, therefore, who bought lots on speculation were much deceived." 

[420] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

appeared, and "countrj^ places" succeeded, and these in turn 
are being "cut up into lots to suit purchasers," hence a 
multitude of small holdings and a greater population. 

This is the present state of the "Thomas and Jones" 
tract, and those adjoining of the other Welsh companies, 
and back from the river line, and along the river front of the 
pioneer company, called for convenience Number One, start- 
ing at the Falls of Schuylkill, there are the great plants of 
the American Bridge Company, and the Pencoyd Iron 
Works, conducted by descendants of the first Welsh settlers, 
while across the entire Thomas and Jones tract is the road- 
way of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad. Here also are 
the properties of the West Laurel Hill Cemetery, on lands 
of Robert David and Edward Owen, or Dr. Griffith Owen, or 
Robert David and Dr. Edward Jones, and Dr. Griffith, pro- 
prietors at various times, and of the Westmoreland Ceme- 
tery, on land of William ap Edward, or of Hugh Roberts, 
while the settlements of Belmont Heights and Ashland 
-Heights are laid out on the lands of Katherine Thomas. 

V/ith the disappearance of the "Welsh Tract" as a dis- 
tinct territory in the Province, begin the annals peculiar to 
the townships that lay in this tract. Some of those of the 
townships called Merion, Haveriord, and Radnor, the orig- 
inal settlements of the Welsh Friends, with their prepara- 
tive meetings, one in each township, by whose names they 
were and are still known, united in a monthly meeting called 
Haverford at first, and subsequently Radnor, that met alter- 
nately in its earliest years with these three meetings, are of 
especial interest, because of the many Welshmen, prominent 
in provincial aflTairs, who resided within their bounds. 

Of these three adjoining "towns," as at first they were 
called, first attention is given to "Merion in the Welsh 
Tract," which it needs no imagination to believe, and which 
has before been said, was named for the Welsh shire whence 
came its first Welsh settlers, the party of Dr. Jones, in the 
summer of 1682. This township in its early days was some- 

[421] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

what larger than our present "Lower Merion" portion of it 
(which is in dimension, 61/0 by 4 miles, or about 14,500 
acres), but not so large as with the whole of the present 
"Upper Merion" portion joined to it, as the "Upper" section 
in 1695, was a portion of the private land of Letitia Penn, 
or the Mount Joy manor, and the center was private land of 
William Penn, the younger, and these were not included in 
any "town." Then "Merion" extended inland from the 
Schuylkill river to the land of William Penn, Jr., and in- 
cluded the land adjoining his, belonging to an English ad- 
venturing land-company, headed by John Pennington, which 
the Welsh looked upon as invaders of their tract, just as 
they did the Swedes, who bought from Penn some 5,000 
acres of the unsettled, confiscated "Welsh Lands," along the 
river from present upper line of Lower Merion to Bridge- 
port, opposite Norristown. 

From the following list of subscribers for the shares of 
the Susquehanna Land Company (preserved at the His- 
torical Society of Pensylvania), about 1690, we get the 
names of probably the most substantial of the early inhabi- 
tants of the old Welsh Tract, in the "town" of Merion, as 
well as those of Haverford, and Radnor, judging from the 
amounts subscribed for shares. This, too, may furnish 
some information of their prosperity at that time. 

This subscription was taken when Penn had a scheme to 
found an interior city in his province, on the river Susque- 
hanna, about 1690-1697. He designed well, but unlooked- 
for events prevented the consummation of his plans, which 
got no further than getting the subscriptions, and selling a 
few lots in the plot of the proposed interior "city," at the 
rate of three hundred acres for one hundred pounds. The 
Welsh subscribed liberally, as may be seen, and also pur- 
chased building lots extra. 

It can hardly be said that Penn compelled the Welsh to 
invest their money in this undertaking of his, but he cer- 
tainly influenced them to do so, and when it failed, it be- 
came another matter that tended to unfix their faith in him, 

[422] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

at least as a promoter of their welfare and wealth, but it is 
common knowledge now that in the province their gratitude 
was displaced by complaints, and it was as written, through 
the ill-treatment they had at his hands that caused the loss 
of his "fatherly influence" over the Welsh Quakers, else 
he might have persuaded them out of their conceit about 
their "barony;" conquered their obstinacy about paying 
Philadelphia county-tax; doing court duty in that county, 
in which their "barony" lay, and having magistrates and 
laws of their own adoption. 

The key, and annotations, to the following "Susquehanna 
Subscribers" may, in many instances, be found in the notices 
of the early settlers. 

MERION TOWNSHIP. 



John Roberts, 

of "Wayne Mills" £5. 

John Bevan 25. 

Hugh Roberts 20. 

John Roberts 20. 

Cadwalader Morgan .... 15. 

Robert David 15. 

Griffith John 10. 

Edward Rees 15. 

Edward Jones 10. 

Rees Jones 6. 

William Edward 6. 

Hugh Jones 5. 

Robert Owen 8. 

Thomas, Robert, Evan and 

Cadw'd Jones 20. 

David Hugh 5. 

John Humphrys 10. 

Margaret Howell 10. 

Dan Thomas [cancelled] . 8. 

Rees Thomas 8. 

David Havord 10. 



Thomas Howell £5. 

Daniel Thomas 5. 

Ellis Pugh 5. 

Robert Lloyd 2.20 

Edward Jones [glover] . . 5. 

Edward Griffith 3. 

Thomas David 1.10 

Peter Jones 5. 

James Thomas, Sen 5. 

James Thomas, Jun'r.... 5. 

Evan Harry 5. 

Joshua Owen 5. 

Benjamin Humphrys .... 5. 

Thomas Jones, Sen'r 2.10 

David William 4. 

John Owen 5. 

John William 2.10 

Abell Thomas 2.10 

Katharine David 5. 

Sarah Evans 5. 

Philip Price 5. 



[423] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



HAVERFORD AND RADNOR TOWNSHIPS. 



William Lewis £10. 

David Lewis 5. 

William Jenkins 10. 

John Lewis 5. 

David Lawrence 5. 

Morriee Llewellen 10. 

Ellis Ellis 5. 

William Howell 6. 

Daniel Humphrey 10. 

Henry Lewis 5. 

Samuel Lewis 5. 

William Row 5. 

Lewis David 5. 

John Evans 6. 

David Meredith 10. 

John Jarman 2.10 

David Evan 8. 

Richard Orms 10. 

David Morice 5. 



Thomas John Evan £5. 

Henry Rees 2.10 

John Evan Edward 2.10 

Thomas Parry 2.10 

Evan Prothero 8. 

Hugh Samuel 2.10 

Owen Evan 2.10 

Daniel Chivers 2.10 

Rees Henton 10. 

William David 2.10 

Richard Moor 2.10 

Samuel Miles 6. 

William David 5. 

John Morgan 2.10 

Thomas Owen 3. 

David James 5. 

William Thomas 2.10 

Elizabeth Jones 2.10 



The following list of fifty-two land owners in Lower 
Marion, in 1734, is also interesting, although their acreage 
is not given. It was made for the use of Gov. Thomas Penn, 
when he was putting the Pensylvania Land Office in proper 
shape for its duties. Up to his time, the land records had 
been a scandal. 



John ap Mathias Roberts. 

Hugh Evans. 

Robert Jones. 

Robert Roberts. 

Robert Evan. 

Rice Price. 

Edward Jones.* 

Abel Thomas. 

Benjamin Eastburn.t 

Jonathan Jones. 



Catharine Pugh. 
Rees Philip. 
Joseph Tuker. 
James John. 
Thomas John. 
John Lloyd. 
Griffith Lewellen.$ 
Robert Roberts. 
David Jones. 
William Walton. 



*He was the captain of the Merion Associators, or militia, during 
the Revolution. 

tHe married at the Abington Mtg., 1722, Ann Thomas. 
JHe was commissioned a justice in Phila. Co., April, 1744. 



[424] 



^ 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

William Havard. David Davis. 

Richard Hughes. David Price, Jr. 

Morris Llewelyn. Lewis Lloyd. 

Benjamin Humphrey. John David. 

John Humphrey. Robert ap Peter Jones. 

Joseph V/illiams. Thomas David. 

Joseph Roberts. Owen Jones's plantation. 

John Roberts. (Pencoyd). Eleanor Bevan. 

David Price. Evan Harry. 

Isachar Price. Samuel Jordan. 

John Evans. James Dodmead. 

Rees Thomas. John Roberts, carpenter. 

William Thomas. Nicholas Repy. 

Peter Jones. Evan Rees. 

Humphrey Jones. Edward Edwards. 

John Griffith. Garret Jones. § 

The regular assessment lists of 1740-43, show 101 tax- 
ables in Lower Merion. The collector was probable more 
diligent, and let none escape him. 

That there was particular confidence in the Welshmen 
may be judged by the fact that so many of them were named 
to sign and number the Exchange Money, or Bills of Credit, 
for the trustees of the Loan Office of Pensylvania, in Nov- 
ember, 1755, as among the signers were Hugh Roberts, 
Daniel Williams, Christopher Jones, Joseph Morris, Owen 
Jones, Jonathan Evans, and Evan Morgan. 

There has also been preserved a list of the taxables of 
Lower Merion, without date, but apparently about the year 
1780, which gives the following inhabitants of the old 
"town," who were of Welsh extraction, and the number of 
acres they owned, out of a total of 153 names on the list. 
But in Upper Merion, at the same assessment, there were 
apparently only thirty-six having Welsh names out of 173 
taxables. That is, among 326 taxables in the stronghold 
of the Welsh Friends, there were only 63 apparently of 
Welsh extraction, in their paternal lines. It may be noted 



§He "perished under the snow," and was buried in the Merion 
Friends graveyard, 3mo. 30. 176.5. See p. 134-5. 

[425] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

that at this time there were no very large farms in Lower 
Merion, but at all times here the farms of the Welsh, who 
succeeded the pioneers, were small, as primogeniture was 
not a custom among them. Each son received land, often in 
equal proportion. 



Thomas David Estate 280 

Peter Evans 280 

John Evans (tailor) 

Nehemiah Evans 50 

Isaac Hughes 70 

Thomas Humphreys (smith) 

Jesse Jones 100 

Francis Jones 50 

John Jones 50 

Hugh Jones 334 

Jacob Jones 230 

Paul Jones 130 

Silas Jones 140 

John Llewellyn 350 



Eleanor Lloyd 50 

Thomas Morgan 100 ' 

Edward Price 200 

Rees Price 15 

Henry Pugh 50 

Joseph Roberts 150 

Hugh Roberts (bach.) 130 

Algernon Roberts 224 

John Roberts 50 

Jesse Thomas (smith) 40 

Abel Thomas 40 

Walter Walter 80 

Levris Thomas (wheelwright) 



Lower Merion, still the most populous of the three old 
Welsh "towns" (in 1910, it was over four times that of Hav- 
erford tp.) , and the richest "township" in the world, accord- 
ing to assessments, at the period of our '76 Centennial, con- 
tained only 1,200 taxables in a population of 5,000. This 
cannot be considered a wonderful growth however, for this 
country, since in 1800, Lower Merion had a population of 
1,422. That is, in seventy-five years the population had only 
a little more than trebled itself, but following this period it 
took only thirty years to treble it again. At this writing 
Lower Merion, according to the 1911 report from the Bureau 
of the Census, has a population of 17,671. This is a gain 
of 4,400 over the census of 1900, and an increase of 7,200 
over that of 1890. The figures do not include the students 
of the colleges and boarding schools in the township. The 
valuation of property for taxation in Lower Merion, in 1876, 
was $4,000,000, but in 1911, it is $17,621,130, and this being 
only at the "farm rate" is not a fifth of the true value of the 
properties. 



[426] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

Lower Merion, and the other "Welsh townships," even in 
the memory of some present-day men, were distinctively 
agricultural districts, and contained no towns, or even vil- 
lages, as there was no occasion for them, for farmers do 
not need them.. There were only little groups of a few 
houses, hamlets, about a grist mill, or a smith's shop, or aa 
inn. These have gi'own into villages, and towns, but only by 
the overflow of population from the nearby city. Of stores, 
there were a very few. Even at the time of our national 
centennial, Lower Merion had not developed in this direc- 
tion, as within its bounds there was only one drug store, one 
confectioner, one stove store, and one shoe store. Here 
primitive life and customs prevailed among the Welsh 
Friends, though it was the nearest to the city, and the most 
advanced of the three Welsh townships, fifty years after its 
settlement. 

It was not till in 1830, that there was a post-office in 
Lower Merion, and thirty years later, there were only three. 
One at the General Wayne Inn, the first established, a near 
neighbor of the Merion Meeting House. The Inn had ac- 
cumulated a blacksmith shop, a little country store, and a 
few dwellings, and the whole was dignified as the village 
of General Wayne, but this growth had been only since the 
Revolution. Another post-office was at Merion, Lower Mer- 
ion, or Merion Square, as variously called, a village now,, 
called Gladwyne. Here too the inn was the nucleus for some 
dwelling houses and a store. In 1860, the other post-office 
was at a cabinetmaker's shop, about which were some dwell- 
ings, and the whole known as Cabinet, or Cabinetville, and 
later Athensville, a stopping place of the first railway 
through the township. This gave it some importance, and 
soon it became the largest of Merlon's villages, having in 
1860, 28 houses, three stores, and a new tavern, the Red 
Lion, rebuilt in 1856, on the site of an older inn, on the 
Philadelphia and Lancaster Pike. In recent years, this 
settlement was re-christened Ardmore, and has become a 
town with about 6,000 inhabitants. These places were so in- 

[427] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

significant they had no mention in the State Gazetteer of 
1832, though Humphreyville, on the pike, now Bryn Mawr, 
was recorded as a village, but in 1875, it had only twenty- 
one houses. 

In Provincial times, and almost to recent years, the "free- 
men" of the Welsh Tract were put to great inconvenience 
when balloting for Philadelphia county officials. Before 
the Revolution, there were successive election days, as in 
England, when all of the voters of the Welsh Tract were 
obliged to go to the inn opposite the State House, in Ches- 
nut street, Philadelphia, to cast their votes. When the 
British occupied the city, the men beyond the Schuylkill 
were obliged to go to Germantown, and cast their ballots at 
the tavern of Jacob Coleman, and continued doing this at 
each election till by Act of Assembly, 17 Sep. 1785, when the 
Merion voters, and others west of the Schuylkill, who did 
not reside in Philadelphia county, went to the court house 
of the newly created county, Montgomery, at Norristown, 
to vote, as Merion was from that time a part of this new 
county. By Act of 31st March, 1806, Merion tp. became a 
separate voting district, when its elections were held at the 
tavern of Titus Yerkes, the General Wayne Inn, till in 1867. 

Although Lower Merion was known as a "farm country" 
till it became a "suburb," from its earliest settlement its main 
stream, now called Mill Creek, but in early days, Upper Mill 
Creek to distinguish it from another Mill Creek to the South, 
whose name was changed to Cobb's Creek,* furnished the 



*This "Lower Mill Creek" was called Karakung, and Kakara 
Kong by Indians, and Carcoen Creek by the early Swedes. The Swed- 
ish Governor, Printz, had his gristmill built at the ford, or at the old 
Blue Bell tavern, in Paschallville. When the territory became Penn's 
he took over this mill, and established William Cobb as the miller, 
and the concern became one of the properties of Penn's monopoly 
Milling Company. It was patronized by the V/elsh Friends at great 
inconvenience till the downfall of Penn's monopoly, as related herein. 
From this it may be seen that this Mill Creek got its present name 
from Penn's miller, William Cobb. 

[428] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

power for many manufacturing industries. After Penn's 
milling monopoly was broken, there was a grist mill erected 
on Upper Mill Creek by the Welsh, which was well patron- 
ized by settlers in Dr. Jones's, and the other plantations. 

After the Revolution, and during it, it is believed, there 
was an important gunpowder mill on this creek, carried on 
by Messrs. Young & Homes. It seems to have been a rather 
unfortunate concern, for according to entries of burials at 
the Merion Meeting House, there were numerous accidental 
explosions in it, when workmen were killed. As the Burial 
Records state: — 8mo. 2. 1788, "Richard Gill [entered again 
as Still]. Powder mill blode up"; Nov. 1804, "Two men, 
blue up at Young and Homes powder Mill on Mill Crick, 
[buried] in Strangers Yard" ; Jan. 1805, "Two men, burnt 
in Young & Homes powder house on Mill Crick, [buried] 
in Strangers Yard;" 5mo. 10. 1806, "miller, killed [by] the 
Blowing up of Young & Homes Powder Mill." Written 
under this entry; "and they gave out makeing," which it 
m.ay be supposed was a note by the clerk of the meeting, 
that because of so many accidents, Young & Homes discon- 
tinued powder making. 

In 1785, there were four saw mills and five grist mills, 
along Mill Creek, and in 1800, there were seven paper mills, 
and two others in the township elsewhere, but at this time 
there were only three saw mills and three grist mills on the 
creek. The water power of Mill Creek was used by a dozen 
small concerns each employing from six to twelve men, 
up to a few years before the Civil War. Beginning at the 
mouth of the creek, there were Joseph Stillwagon's paper 
mill, William Chadwick's lampwick factory, and his grist 
mill and seven dwellings, Daniel Nippes's "manufactury," 
William Todd's carpet-fillings factory, Hannah Hagy's 
woolen yarn factory, Charles Greaves's Kentucky jeans 
factory, Evan Jones's carpet-yarns factory, Samuel L. Robe- 
son's saw mill, Samuel Croft's brass mill, a concern of three 
factories, and a half dozen dwellings, Francis Sheetz's paper 
mill, Charles Humphreys's woolen mill, and factory for agri- 

[429] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

cultural implements, and Levy Morris's grist and saw mill. 
A notice of Roberts's Pencoyd Iron Works, at the Falls, just 
before the Civil War, says the concern employs sometimes 
as many as thirty-six men ! Also in the Thomas and Jones 
tract, at this time, Isaac Wetherill had a cotton factory, and 
Grimrod a grist mill on Frog Hollow Run, and on a little 
tributary to Mill Creek, James Dixon had a diaper factory. 
The Merion Furnace, at Matson's Ford, Schuylkill, was also 
a wonder in the middle of the last century, for "it employs 
as many as thirty men sometimes." The other streams of 
Merion, Trout Run, Indian Creek, Rocky Hill Creek, Gully 
Run and Arrowmuck Creek, have ever been small affairs, 
but Cobb's Creek in Haverford tp., and Darby Creek, its 
western boundary, in times past ranked with Mill Creek as 
water powers. 

No sooner were the first Vv^elsh settlers seated than they 
began to plan convenient roads in their proposed "barony," 
or borough, connecting their meeting houses, and them- 
selves with Philadelphia. But, at first, naturally, the stream 
boi'dering one side of their tract, which the Indians called 
Manaiunk or Manayunk, and the Swedes, Skair Kill, the 
Dutch, Skulk Kill, and the English, Schuylkill, was the only 
thoroughfare from the tract to the great town on the Dela- 
ware. This stream, before the erection of the dam at Fair- 
mount, was sometimes navigable for flat-bottom boats up to 
the falls, or the southeast corner of the Welsh Tract, and 
possibly the earliest settlers in the Thomas & Jones lands at 
the falls removed their efl^ects up the stream from the Dela- 
ware to the Falls of Schuylkill, in preference to using the 
narrow Indian trails over the hills. But the necessity of 
convenient intercommunication must have been felt soon, 
for a year after the first arrivals the Welsh had fairly good 
communications between their little settlements, and with 
Philadelphia, though these ways were at best only bridle- 
paths through the woods, and no wider than single wagon 

[430] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

tracks,* the principal ones were called "streets" by courtesy 
or custom, and not known as public roads till after the rights 
of ways were surveyed, laid out, and confirmed, which was 
after the Provincial township organizations had been estab- 
lished, and each township had its highway supervisor, and 
when directions of public roads were determined by road- 
juries. Besides these "streets," the great highways, there 
were many lanes and by-ways in different directions through 
the tract, over private property, used as short cuts, con- 
necting the "streets" which had their beginnings when 
needed, only a few of which came to be confirmed roads in 
after years. In all cases, the dates of confirmation are only 
suggestions as to the ages of public roads or the dates were 
only those of the time of their matureness. 

A fairly complete sketch of the old wagon roads of the 
Welsh Tract would be the annals of its townships, and for 
this reason I will notice only the main "streets" ; those 
decided upon by the Welsh, in 1683, and these were Merion 
Street, through Merion township, connecting with the road 
leading through Blockley to the "middle ferry" of Schuyl- 
kill (at High, or Market Sti-eet) , known subsequently by 
several names, and best as "the old Lancaster Road" ; "Hav- 
erford Street" through Haverford tovi^nship, and also to the 
middle ferry; "Radnor Street," through Radnor township, 
and via Haverford road to the middle ferry, and the high- 
way between the Welsh Friends' meeting houses of Merion, 
Haverford, and Radnor "towns." Early, there were the 



*Possibly this order "By the Co'rt of Upland," (Chester), 12 Nov. 
1678, concerning the public highways, was continued in force, and, 
though the method was crude, communication was opened through the 
country. It ordered that every person, "as far as his Land Reaches, 
make good and passable ways, from neighbour to neighbour, w'th 
bridges where itt needs. To the End, that neighbours on occasion may 
come together." Another order instructed "the highways to be 
clensed as forthwith, viz. : The waye bee made clear of standing and 
lying trees, at least ten feet broad, all stumps and shrubbs to be close 
cutt by ye ground. The trees mark'd yearly on both sides." 

[431] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"cross streets" connecting Merion meeting house witli Hav- 
erford meeting house, and another connecting both with 
"the ford in Schuylldll," above the falls. 

The "streets" of Merion and Haverford apparently had 
official recognition by Penn's government, and may have 
been surveyed routes, in 1683, as in land deeds of that date, 
and later, they are called "settled roads," without names. 
The "Haford," "Harfod," Haverford Street, or road, 
through the townships of Haverford and Blockley to the 
Schuylkill, surveyed in 1683, apparently, laid out in 1703, 
and confirmed as a public highway in 1704, has changed but 
little from its original course and grade. It does not have 
the same sentiment and "history" connected with it, that its 
twin, the "Merion Street," or old Lancaster Road has. Nor 
has the Merion to Radnor road, a "cross street" as early as 
1683-4, and laid out and confirmed in 1713. Nor what is 
known as the Radnor to Chester road, dating from 1687. 
Nor that other landmark road from Merion to the Dai'by 
road, through Haddington, or the "Haverford and Darby 
road," passing Narberth and Overbrook, an official highway 
as early as 1687. 

Other "historically inconspicuous" Welsh Tract roads : 19 
Dec, 1693, "the Inhabitants of Radnor petitioned for a Road 
to be laid out from upper part of sd township to the Mer- 
ion Ford." The request was granted. (On same date, there 
was "request of confirmation of the Road that is from Mer- 
ion Ford to Philadelphia," and that "it come into the third 
street in the sd town. Ordered.") In 1696, it was ordered 
that a road be opened "from David Meredith's to Haver- 
ford meeting House" (this passed White Hall inn, and Hav- 
erford College on the west), and in 1697, a road "from 
Humphrey Haines's in Marple tp. to Haverford Meeting 
House," was opened. 

But the fact that a "side road" was officially "opened" 
did not always keep it open to general use. If it was one 
opened in the Welsh Tract through English influence, or for 
the particular convenience of "English invaders," a Welsh- 

[482] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

man, with an abutting farm, would not hesitate to plow 
and plant the ground taken from him, and visa versa. Mar- 
ion seemed to be free from such troubles, but Haverford, 
and particularly Radnor, with its mixed, as to creed and 
nationality, population, had some difficulty in having "the 
right of way kept open," and had to appeal to the Provincial 
Council for assistance. As an instance of this, on 6mo. 18. 
1687 (Council Minutes), "upon ye Reading ye Petition of 
ye Inhabitants of Radnor complayning yt part of ye road yt 
lades to the ferry of Philadelphia is ffenced in, & more 
likely to be" [continued so]. This was where an abuttor 
ran his fence across the opened road and took the road bed 
back into his farm. In Council, it seemed to be a question 
whether the trespass should be overlooked, and a new course 
selected for the road, or otherwise, as "it was Ordered yt 
John Bevan, Henry Lewis, David Meredith, John Evans, 
Barnabas Wilcox, and Thomas Ducket meet within 4 dales 
to view, or agree upon as Conscientiously as may be, a 
Road from ye Place aforesd to ye ferry, and return ye same 
to the Board ye next sittinge." 

Some of the Welsh Tract public roads nov/ designated as 
old, are not so in fact compared to those mentioned above. 
We hear of the "old Mill Creek Road." It was, as a public 
road, quite modern, since the petition for it to be opened 
"from John Roberts's mill to Rees Edwards' Ford," bears 
date of 1766. (This was "John Roberts, of Wayne Mill," 
as often found in print, but who was really of the "Vane 
Mill," so known from its wind director, and not a property 
of the well known Wayne family, any more than the "Wynn 
Mill, in another part of the tract, was the property once 
of Dr. Wynne, or his family, because once it was only a 
wind mill.) The same of the "old Gulph Road," the "old 
Ford Road," and the "old Levering Road," &c. This Lev- 
ering Road, from Anthony Levering's mill, on the Schuyl- 
kill, connecting with the Lancaster Road (Montgomery 
Ave.), by another road through Academy ville, and past the 
Belmont Driving Park (where Hugh Roberts lived), and the 

[433] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Merion Meeting House, is referred to elsewhere as the 
"Ravine Road" to Rock Hollow. It was not made a public 
road till about 1785, on the petition of the miller Levering. 
This connecting road is now a handsome driveway, known 
as Meeting House Lane, but was in its earliest days known 
in deeds as simply "the road to the ford." For this reason 
it is often confounded with "the old Ford Road." This lat- 
ter highway was quite another ancient institution of Mer- 
ion and Blockley, but its identity is almost obliterated, for 
one end of it has been swallowed by an avenue of West 
Fairmount Park, and the other end by what is known as 
the State Road, in Merion. Yet its route can be described 
as from an olden time Schuylkill ford, about where Laurel 
Hill Cemetery landing is located (of course, before Fair- 
mount dam was built), through Fairmount Park to the 
City Line road, or City Ave., then crossing the Schuylkill 
Valley Railroad, near Bala station, thence through Merion- 
ville, or what was known as Bowman's Bridge, till it is lost 
in the State Road. It has been supposed that the continua- 
tion of the "Ford Road," or its counterpart on the east 
side of the river, was an Indian trail from the Delaware 
river to the Schuylkill, passing between the two Laurel 
Hills to the landing. 

The greatest and most prominent thoroughfare through 
Merion, passing the Friends' meeting house, our beautiful 
Montgom.ery Ave., is such a road, for it is tradition that 
once it was only an Indian path, from the Delaware to the 
Susquehanna, widened in part by the Welsh. Taken offi- 
cially, this road is a mere infant compared with some other 
Welsh Tract highways. But of this road hereafter. 

The "old Gulph Road," or the Gulf Road going westward 
to Gulf Mill and Paoli, from the old Lancaster Road, near 
the Merion meeting house, through the Merions, seems old 
because it has the Penn family coat of arms on its mile- 
stones, and it certainly was a "line of communication" as 
early as 1690, yet it was not officially a public highway till 

. [434] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

it was surveyed and opened in 1748, when it is presumed, 
the milestones were placed under the direction of Richard 
and Thomas Penn, the joint governors of the Province.* 

What we now know as the West Chester Pike, is the result 
of a petition, 16. 9mo. 1703, of Humphrey Ellis, Daniel 
Lewis, and fifty-eight others, inhabitants of the Welsh 
Tract, for a public road from Goshen tp. to Philadelphia, 
past the Haverford meeting house. It was ordered that it 
be laid out "from William Powell's ferry on Skuylkill & 
passing by Haverford meeting House to the Principal part 
of Goshen Township." 

All of these country roads were primarily for the con- 
venience of farmers marketing their produce, as it is likely 
that few people travelled in vehicles in the Welsh Tract till 
after the Revolution since no Welshmen's inventories of 
estates earlier than this period, mention any. At the time 
of the Revolution, there were only eighty-five vehicles of all 
kinds in the whole Province, and in 1760, in Philadelphia, 
there were three coaches, drawn by four or six horses (the 
Proprietor's, the Governor's, and William Allen's), two 
landaus, drawn by four horses, eighteen chariots, or two 
horse carriages, and fifteen one horse chairs, volanties, 
sulkies, and chaises. In the years just before the end of the 



*The annalist Watson mentions in his MS notes (at Pa. His. Soc.) 
the mile stones he saw in 182-, along the Gulf Road, and the Haver- 
ford Road, particularly one on the latter, at White Hall Inn, (the 
water station on the old Columbia Railway) , and one on a line of 
the "Harriton" farm, at 12 Mile Hill, which he records, "was marked 
12 in front, with the Penn arms on the rear." (This stone, without 
figures, is now stored in the cellar of the Pa. Historical Society build- 
ing. "These stones," says Watson, presumably referring to those 
on the Haverford Road, "were placed by the Mutual Association Fire 
Company, [Green Tree] of Philadelphia, as the price of its charter." 
The 11 Mile Stone was also on the "Harriton" farm, as the Gulf Road 
(and the Mill Creek) traversed it. The 10 Mile Stone was where the 
road crosses Mill Creek, and at its junction with the road to Merion 
Square (Gladwyn). The 9 Mile Stone was on the old Gaskill place, 
and the 8 Mile Stone on the old Lancaster Road, about 800 feet east 
of where the Gulf Road joins it. 

[435] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

eighteenth century, there were a thousand of all kinds of 
private vehicles in use. William Penn owned a coach and a 
calash when last here, but could not use either because of 
the "dreadful roads." Thirty years later, there were only 
five four-horse coaches, and three two-horse four-wheeled 
chairs in the Province. It was horseback for all but a very, 
very few till after the Revolution. 

The present fine road passing the Merion Friends' meet- 
ing house from the city, was in its earliest times described 
only as "a settled road," in deeds concerning abutting 
lands, and may then not have had a name, as it had not 
become the King's Highway, for it was only a courtesy way 
across private grounds, having never been officially laid out, 
nor dedicated, excepting by implied consent, to public use 
by the Welsh Friends, owners of the land, for their own 
convenience in going to and from the city, by way of the 
"Middle Feriy," through the woods. Unless this could be 
considered as Penn's imaginary "Street" through Merion, 
there is no clear conception of what and where "Merion 
Street." was. Nor is the western terminus of this road in 
earliest days certain. Pioneer roads always led to a definite 
spot. This one, after connecting Merion Meeting people 
with Middle Ferry, possibly united with what we know 
as the Gulf road, and continued on to "the mill at 
Gulph," for in 1740, it only had the reputation of a 
"settled road" from the Merion meeting house towards 
the city, when it was known as the "Blockley and 
Merion Waggon Road," and the "Merion Road to Middle 
Ferry," and, of course, was only a mud road, for 
Macadam was not yet born. In after years, when it came 
to be widened, extended, and improved, and a part of a 
great highway, and was confirmed as a connecting link 
between Lancaster, or the frontier, and the city, it was 
known as the "Road to Lancaster," and was the principal 
thoroughfare of Merion. Its original route from Ducket's 
place, or the Friends' Schuylkill meeting place, near the 
Middle Ferry, out our Market Street and Lancaster Avenue, 

[436] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

to our 52d Street, does not appear to have been altered. But 
from 52d Street, and the Pensylvania Railroad, and in 
Merlon, there were some changes made in direction and in 
grades, when the way over it to Lancaster was confirmed, 
and this Welsh enterprise came under the immediate pro- 
tection of Philadelphia county, and after 1784, under that 
of Montgomery, beyond the new Philadelphia county line. 
Anciently, as now, the route in Merion, in a general way, of 
this historic road, over which our soldiers of six wars have 
marched, and only in one was their way contested, was via 
Merionville, past Daniel Morgan's place now the site of the 
great convent and school of the Sisters of Mercy, past the 
General Wayne tavern, the Merion Friends' meeting house, 
and westward for miles. 

The beginning of this road in its present course and 
shape was when, on 20 Jan., 1730-1, the Provincial Coun- 
cil was petitioned by the settlers of Lancaster county for 
a road "from Lancaster town till it falls in with the high 
road [the King's High Road] in the county of Chester, 
leading to the Ferry of Schuylkill at High Street." The 
Council thereupon appointed a committee of Lancaster and 
Chester county men to select a route. On 4 Oct., 1733, this 
committee reported a route in their counties to the Coun- 
cil, which ordered that it be vacated and cleared in those 
counties, and also directed, to extend it to the ferry, and 
that the "road in Philadelphia county leading to the Ferry 
be searched" by a committee consisting of Messrs. Rich- 
ard Harrison, Hugh Evans, Robert Roberts, Samuel Hum-* 
phreys, David George, and John Warner. But eight years 
passed without any report from this Philadelphia county 
committee; and the Lancaster and Chester people had to 
petition again to have "a road from John Spruce's, on the 
Chester line to the High Street ferry," and thereupon a 
new Philadelphia county committee was appointed by the 
Council, namely Richard Harrison, Griffith Llewellyn, 
William Thomas, Edward George, Hugh Evans, and Robert 
Jones. 

[437] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

On 23 Nov., 1741, this committee reported a route with 
courses and distances made out 10 Nov., for the Lancaster 
road extended, which, in a general way was, in Philadel- 
phia county, from near the homes of Rees Thomas and , 
David James, on the Chester county line, over the "Cone- 
stoga Road" (surveyed on 20 July, 1741), beginning at 
Spruce's through Whiteland tp., to the Pektang road, to 
Kinnison's run, to Robert Powell's house, "then leaving 
the old road, and on George Aston's land" thence "to Wil- 
listown, to the west bounds of Purge's tract, to William 
Evan's smith shop, through Tredyffryn tp., to the Sign of 
the Bull, through East Town tp., to Radnor's upper line, 
and near John Samuel's place." Past the Radnor Friends' 
meeting house, "to Samuel Harry's lane, and his house, to 
James's house and lane, to the county line." Thence from 
the Radnor line to the Merion line, "past David Rees's 
shop." Over the Chester county line "to Benjamin Humph- 
rey's upper line (being the Philadelphia county line) , to the 
Gulf Mill road, thence through the lines of Benjamin and 
Edward Humphreys, to Richard Hughs's upper line and 
house, to Evan Jones's lower line, past the Merion Meet- 
ing House, and into the Ford road, and through Richard 
George's property, to the Blockley line." Then "near the 
house of Edward George, over David George's lane and 
run, to the Haverford road, past Peter Gardner's house to 
High Water mark at end of the Causeway at west side of 
High street ferry." It was ordered that this route be 
opened and cleared. 

Going back over this road, in earlier days, there was com- 
ing from the ferry, the lands of Edward Prichard and 
Thomas Ducket, and a survey of the latter's land here 
shows the Friends' burying ground as a bound, and that 
the land of Francis Fincher was also a boundary for 
Ducket, and a deed shows that Fincher's land was bounded 
on the west by a street or road, the one to the ferry, and 
that he also bought land bounded on the south by this road. 
That is, Fincher had 35 acres on the upper side of Market 

[438] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

Street and across the street was "the Haverford Friends' 
burying ground," that is the graveyard of the Schuylkill 
Preparative Meeting, and the land of Philip England. 

The road passed through 200 acres, next to Ducket's, 
owned by Barnabas Wilcox, thence through William 
Powell's 294 acres, William Smith's 500 acres, William 
Warner's 288 acres, the lands of Israel Morris, William 
Warner (again), and [Hugh Roberts's] 200 acres, Wil- 
liam Woods's and Wood & Sharlow's claim of 200 acres, and 
by the land of Jonathan Wynne (lying between 161 acres 
of Edward Jones and 200 acres of George Scotson) , across 
the city line, and through the land of John Roberts, whose 
neighbor to the southwest on his side of the line was Grif- 
fith Jones, and next to the latter was Abel Thomas, opposite 
to whom, across the city, or liberty line, was William ap 
Edward, and where these two properties were, now grows 
the village of Overbrook. Adjoining William Edwards' 
186 acres, and Edward Jones' 161 acres, on the southeast 
was the 286 acre farm of David Jones. On 19. 12, 1700-1, 
Penn issued "warrant to survey unto David Jones, late of 
Merionethshire, 250 acres of my land on the west side of 
Schuylkill within the bounds of the liberties of Philadel- 
phia, to be bounded to the eastward with the land seated 
by Hugh Roberts, to the northward with William Edwards, 
to the south'd with the line of William Warner, and to west- 
ward with my vacant land, reserving 50 acres on the north- 
east corner, adjoining to Jonathan Wynne and Hugh 
Roberts." 

The commercial value of this roadway, or "public util- 
ity," was not fully appreciated, or recognized till the end of 
the century. In the fall and winter, 1786-7, the Assembly 
minutes record consideration of the improvement of the 
road, and the diary of Jacob Hiltzheimer, 6 Dec. 1786, 
says: — "the order of the day was brought forward con- 
cerning the new road to be made from the middle ferry on 
Schuylkill to Lancaster. All the speakers in the House 
debated upon it for some time." And 31 Mai'ch, 1792, the 

[439] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Assembly "finished with the bill for the turnpike between 
Philadelphia and Lancaster," and the Governor appointed 
as the Lancaster Turnpike commissioners, Messrs. Adam 
Reigert, Gen. Hand, Andrew GraiT, Jacob Graff, A. Witmer, 
and Thomas Boude, of Lancaster, and Philip Wager and 
Capt. Faulkner, of Philadelphia, and entertained them v^ 
dinner on 19 Oct. 1792. But on 10 April, 1791, its right 
of way and roadbed had been granted and confirmed to 
some Philadelphia capitalists and promotors, who organ- 
ized a stock company to improve and operate it by charter, 
granted 9 April, 1792, the corporation being called the 
Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road Company. The 
company's shares were readily sold, and there was "money 
a plenty," yet little was laid out on the old road to improve 
it, and it still went straight to given points without regard 
to hills and valleys. Mr. Hiltzheimer say that on 7 Aug. 
3.793, he "drove ten miles up the Lancaster road to the 
widow Miller's, to see the new turnpike, about a mile of 
which is laid." But the revenue of the road was con- 
scientiously attended to, for in the 62 miles between Phila- 
delphia and Lancaster there were nine tollgates when the 
road was opened in 1795. Gate No. 1, was two miles west 
from the. Schuylkill, and collected for three miles; gate No. 
2, was five miles west from the river, and collected for five 
miles; gate No. 3, was ten miles west from the river, and 
collected for seven miles. Mr. Hiltzheimer was appointed 
to inspect the new road, and Nov. 1795, he records that in 
driving over it, he frequently measured it, and found it 
full 21 feet wide, coming from Lancaster to the 14 Mile 
Stone. 

As this road was still "paved with mud," the "Rules of 
the Road" are quite as primitive. "No waggon, or other 
carriage with wheels, the breadth of whose wheels shall 
not be four inches, shall be driven along said Road between 
December 1st and May 1st following, with a greater weight 
thereon than two and a half tons, or with more than three 
tons during the rest of the year." If loads were over three 

[440] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

tons, the wheel tires must be proportionately wider. The 
old English "law of the road" still obtained, and drivers 
"kept to the left," up to the taking-over of the road by 
the stock company, when by general understanding and 
consent the teamsters reversed the rule, for it appeared to 
them, as well as all Americans, 

"The law of the road is a paradox quite, 
In riding or driving along, 
If you go to the left you are sure to go right, 
If you go to the right you go wrong." 

This road, incorporated, now became the passenger and 
freight route of great importance, not only to Pensylvania 
shippers, and New York and New England merchants, but 
to the development of "the old Welsh Tract." The traffic 
in each of these industries was at first controlled and oper- 
ated by alleged subsidiary concerns of the corporation, but 
as there shortly seemed to arise great rivalry between 
"lines" travelling the road, it is presumed the original 
scheme of close monopoly was abandoned, or was lost con- 
trol of, or the carriers became independent. But what was 
known as the Line Wagon Company, owned by directors 
of the corporation, was long the monopoly freighter over 
the pike. It had warehouses and repair shops along the 
route, with extra wagons, horses, drivers, harness, &c. The 
Pike Stage Company, carrying passengers, the mail, and the 
newspapers, was the sister monopoly, also owned by the 
directors, "on the side." It maintained relays of teams, and 
extras, at such taverns along the road, and where meals 
were taken which gave the company the best percentage 
on travellers' fees. Through bad example of these monopo- 
lists, it is tradition not without foundation, that after they 
lost their control, the old stage drivers and the teamsters, 
working independently, practised "graft" to perfection, on 
the proprietors of road inns, the "wagon houses" and the 
stage taverns, distinct concerns, when also it was not un- 
usual for teamsters to hold up the public stages by block- 

[441] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

ing the narrow road, and demand payment from the driver, 
who collected the "fee" from the passengers, and kept a 
"rake-oif," to "go on and turn out." This method of "high- 
way robbery" was also practised by teams, and even stages, 
on individuals in private vehicles. This state of affairs 
was the forerunner of another "controlling interest" on the 
pike. It was not long before old stage drivers and boss 
teamsters combined, and persecuted and drove from the 
road, or levied blackmail and tribute on any invaders of the 
pike, and stopped opposition and rivalry, and ended "rate 
cutting," and monopolized to them.selves the traffic of the 
pike, charging exorbitantly. Nowadays we hear much about 
the chivalrous, "gentlemanly, though rough," stage drivers 
of ye olden time ! 

In its best days as the great thoroughfare to Lancaster 
and the West, the "Merion Street" of the Welsh Friends, 
when teams of four or six horses dragged heavily loaded 
Conestoga wagons over it, there were mile stones to regulate 
their journeys, as well as the amount of toll to pay. These 
reckoned the distance from the old court house at High and 
Second Streets, Philadelphia. At the 5 Mile Stone, in Mer- 
ion, just across the Philadelphia county line, was the first 
important stopping and watering place for stages and teams 
coming from the city, Stadelman's Black Horse Tavern. 
Here also wagoners tarried to fix up their loads before 
entering the city. Near it, behind his great stone barn, 
was his starch factory, on the west side of the pike, near a 
"never failing spring." This was a long established inn, 
and was indicated on Scull's map of 1749-50. Pownall 
mentions it in his extant Journal, kept on a trip, in 1754, 
from Philadelphia to the Susquehanna: — "To Shadling's, 
the Black Horse, Ay^ miles." Thence "To Meeting House 
[Merion], VA miles." "To Richard Hughes', The Three 
Tuns, 21/2 miles. To Ann Miller's, the Buck, one mile. To 
Richard Bury's, the Plow, 2% miles. To G. Ashton's, the 
Vernon [Warren?], 31/1, miles. To White Horse (Ham- 
bright's), 234 miles. To the Ship (Thomas Park's), 8^4 

[442] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

miles," &c. Stadelman's was a fair road-house, and had 
good custom till about 1798, when Col. Edward Heston 
built a tavern for his son, Abraham, on the pike in Block- 
ley, east of Meeting House Lane (which is now 52d Street), 
which he named Columbus Inn. On the pike, opposite the 
4 Mile Stone, was another good inn, called White Lamb. It 
is also still standing, back from, the road, near Wynneiield 
Ave. Near it is a little stone blacksmith shop that was 
patronized by travellers long before the "settled road" be- 
came a turnpike. Near this inn, Thomas Wynne conducted 
a rope-walk, and at the edge of the woods was the snuff- 
mill of John Adaro.s, a son-in-law of Thomas Wynne, 3d. 
At the 7 Mile Stone, on the pike, the old Columbia railway 
crossed the pike, at Bowman's Bridge. The 8 Mile Stone 
stood on Price's land, about a hundred perches beyond the 
Merion Meeting House. Other road houses in Merion were 
the General Wayne, the Red Lion, and the Eagle, and beyond 
was the Spread Eagle, the Paoli, and the Sorrel Horse, all 
popular in stage coach days, and all still operated. In all, 
between the Schuylkill and Lancaster, there were sixty 
inns of importance along the turnpike. 

The "Turnpike Road," greatly improved, prospered as a 
tollroad till the canal and the railroad took away its busi- 
ness, when it became a disreputable affair, — a broken-down 
plankroad along its eastern end, and its western worse. 
The eastern end was then known as the West Philadelphia 
Plank Road, long ago only a memory, yet while it lasted 
may have been a reputable institution, but it was "too good 
to last," for its life was only between 1855 and 1858. 

About 1876-7, the old Lancaster road became a menace to 
the paralleling Pensylvania Railroad, for the management 
of the latter corporation feared that street-car lines might 
be extended from the city out the old road into the grow- 
ing suburbs, and cut into its local passenger business. There- 
fore, to protect itself from opposition the railroad bought 
the pike through a subsidiary company, in April, 1880, from 
52d Street to Paoli, about seventeen miles, for $20,000, 

[443] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

and got a charter, under the name Lancaster Avenue Im- 
provement Company, A. J. Cassatt, president, to operate 
it as a toUroad. Subsequently, this company sold and aband- 
oned that part of the road that would not be likely to menace 
the railroad, west of Bryn Mawr, and retained the eastern 
portion, in Montgomery Co., re-naming it Montgomery 
Ave., and continuing to operate it as a tollroad, through a 
re-organized corporation called the Philadelphia, Bala, and 
Bryn Mawr Turnpike Company. However, this as the 
"old Lancaster Road" will always be "the first and most 
interesting macadamized road in the United States." 

Of the aforementioned inns along the old Lancaster Road 
in the Welsh Tract, the General Wayne deserves particu- 
lar mention here, as it is still a noted landmark in Merion. 
The inducement for changing what was a little stone dwell- 
ing into an inn, was that it stood on the great highway near 
two well-used side roads and a long established blacksmith's 
shop. That it was located so close to the Merion meeting 
house, was undesirable from Friends' viewpoint, yet they 
could, at several times, have purchased the lot on which it 
stands, surrounded on three sides by the meeting house 
land. This location of the tavern endorses the statement 
of De Foe : 

"Where ever God erects a house of prayer, 
The Devil always builds a chapel there." 

This inn, about which there is misconception as to its age, 
as there seems to be about its nearest neighbor, the Mer- 
ion meeting house, was originally, as may be seen, a small 
stone house, which was erected by Robert Jones, a son of 
John ap Thomas, sometime after 1709, the year in which 
he became the owner of the lot on which it stands, and was 
not "established" as an inn, as its sign now states, "in 
1704," and did not so become till about 1776, as will appear 
from extracts below from deeds concerning the property, 
but for many years was only the home of the smith whose 

[444] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

shop was across the road. It also may be noted that Pownall, 
travelling this way, in 1754, did not mention an inn, or 
tavern here, though he noticed the Meeting House. 

It has already been stated that Edward ap Rees (or Price) 
had 76^2 acres, of the Thomas and Jones tract, in 1682, 
located back of V/illiam ap Edward, with Hugh Roberts 
on the north. Dr. Jones on the south, and Thomas Lloyd 
on the west; and that in 5mo. 1691, he bought 125 acres 
of land from said Lloyd on the v\^est end of his first land, 
and in the same year bought "two acres" of the back end 
of Dr. Jones's first land, and that these several parcels of 
land were resurveyed and patented to him, in 1704, amount- 
ing in total 190 acres. And that Dr. Jones bought 761/^ 
acres, adjoining his first land on the southwest, and along 
the Merion and Haverf ord road ; and that he sold the river 
end of his original land, and in 1704, bought 188 acres south 
of his last purchase, and then had about 340 acres on both 
sides of what was afterwards Lancaster pike, and both sides 
of the road from here to Haverford meeting house. 

Edward ap Rees, by a tri-party deed, dated 7 Aug. 1708, 
conveyed to Robert Jones (son of John Thomas), and 
"David Meredith" (or Meredith Davis), of Plymouth 
(father-in-law of Rees Press, whose first wife, Sarah, was 
the only daughter of Meredith) , of the second part, and his 
son Rees Prees (Price), of the third part, two tracts of 
land, the above 190 acres, and 220 acres he had bought of 
Robert Roberts, a part of Hugh Roberts' estate. The two 
tracts adjoined, but would now be separated by the "Road 
to the Ford," and were surveyed together, but only 1,he 
first part of the survey concerns the land of interest here 
namely, "beginning at a corner in Edward Jones's land, 
and by the same E. 15°, N. 156 per., N. 16°, W. 28 per. by 
Jones's land, to a stake in Jones's land, 1. 18°, N. 64 per. 
to a stake, . .. 14°, W. 24 per. by land of Robert Jones, and 
thence by the Meeting House ground, W. 13°, S. 514 per., 

[445] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

then N. 14°, W. 7 (7%) per., then by land Edward ap 
Rees bought of Robert Roberts, and by lands of Evan Owen, 
Evan Harry, and William Cuarton." 

The "two acres" which Edward Rees had bought of Dr. 
Jones, as above, went to make up the 190 acres, but Rees 
had promised- them, half to the Merion Meeting, as will 
appear, and half as follows: 

By deed, 23 April, 1709, he conveyed to Robert Jones, 
aforesaid, "one acre" (where the tavern stands), for twenty 
shillings Pensylvania money. Described: — "beginning at 
the southeast corner of the Meeting House stable, thence 
to a settled road" (Lancaster pike) ; thence S. S. E. 24^^ 
per. to a stake by the road to Haverford, in the line of 
Edward Jones ; thence by said Jones' land and line, W. S. W. 
534 per. to a stake; then by "line dividing it from said 
Edward Rees's land" (the lot on which the meeting house 
stands, which was still in Rees's name), N. N. W. about 
2414 per-, to a chestnut tree; thence "by the Grave Yard 
belonging to the meeting aforesaid,'" E. N. E. 53/4, per. to 
the beginning. On this lot, as appears in a subsequent deed, 
Robert Jones "built a house, and made other improve- 
ments." 

The above tri-party deed is quoted in another tri-party 
deed, dated 31 May, 1753, between Garret (or Garred) 
Jones (eldest son of said Robert Jones), of the first part, 
Rees Frees, of the second part, and John Frees (a son of 
Rees Frees), of third part, concerning the above 190 acres. 
Described: — beginning at Edward Jones' corner, E. 15°, N. 
146 per. to a post; thence N. 16°, W. by Edward Jones 28 
per., thence by Edward Jones E. 18°, N. 64i/i. per., thence 
N. 14°, W. by Robert Jones 2414 per., "thence by Meeting 
House ground," W. 13°, S. 514 per., thence N. 14°, W. 7% 
per. by same ; thence by land bought by the said Edward 
Rees of Robert Roberts,* W. 13°, S. 206 per., &c., by Evan 
Owen, Evan Harry, and William Cuarton. 

*This land was conveyed, "for £300 silver," to Edward Eees, 16. 
8mo. 1707, and deed acknowledged 17. 2mo. 1708, by Robert Roberts, 

[446] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

Robert Jones* died, and by will dated 21. 7mo. 1746, 
devised "my house and lot of ground near the Merion Meet- 
ing House, with all its appurtenances," to his grandson, 
Silas Jones, of Darby, grazier, who by deed, dated 25 March, 
1768,-i- sold and conveyed this house and lot to Benjamin 



of Calvert Co., Maryland. It was a tract of 200 laid out to Hugh 
Roberts, which on re-survey amounted to 220 acres, and was bounded 
by lands of Jonathan Jones, Thomas Jones, Owen Roberts, and 
Edward Jones, and the ten acre meadow, called "Clean John." 

The 125 acre lot, in the 190 acre tract Edward Rees bought of 
Thomas Lloyd, by deed of 5. 5mo. 1691, (witnessed by Robert Owen 
and David Lloyd), was bounded on V/. S. W. by Richard Cuarton; 
on N. N. W. by Evan Harry, (or Harries), on E. N. E. by Robert 
Owen, and on S. S. E. by Ree's land. 

*By his will, signed in the presence of Jonathan Jones, Jr., Edward 
Price, and Sydney Roberts, proved 17 Oct., 1746, he gave his son 
Gerrad Jones the plantation where he lives, 223 acres, bounded 
south by David Evans, his own home-farm, and cousin Evan Jones's 
land; west by his son Robert's plantation; north by some of his 
(Robert, Sr.) own land; east by Schuylkill river. To son Robert 
Jones, Jr,, the plantation where he lives, 325 acres, bounded south 
and west by land of cousin Evan Jones; north by land of the late 
William Sharlow; east and south by son Gerrad's land; east and 
north by his own farm. To daughter Elizabeth Jones the plantation 
called "Mt. Ararat," which he bought from David Hugh, 165 acres, 
and an adjoining tract of 66 acres, bounded by son Robert's land, 
and on the east by the plantation called "Glenrason." This "Glen- 
rason" farm, 189 acres, bounded north by "Mt. Ararat" (formerly 
Shadow's land); west by Elizabeth's land and Robert's land; south 
by Gerrad's other land; east by the Schuylkill, he devised to son 
Gerrad. Besides the "tavern lot," he gave to grandson Silas Jones 
ten acres "where the hempmill stood." He gave his lands in Goshen 
tp., 426 acres, to son Robert, to sell and remit the price to daughter 
Ann and her husband, James Paul. To granddaughters Sarah and 
Katherine Evans £50 ; to granddaughters Ellen and Ann Jones, £10 
each. To daughter Elizabeth his "large Bible," and £20. Trustees 
Cousins Robert Roberts and Evan Jones, and friend Edward William. 

•j-It is presumed that during the interval between 1746 and 1768, 
Anthony Tunis also bought land adjoining in 1741, rented the prop- 
erty and kept "open house," as the place was about this time, and 
down into the time of the Revolutionary War, called "Tunis' 
Ordinary." 

[4471 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Jones, of Philadelphia, blacksmith. This deed recites 
Penn's confirmation to Edward Rees of the 190 acres, 
in which was included this acre, in 1704 (this is the 
only excuse for advertising that this tavern was "established 
in 1704"), and Edward Rees' deed, 1709, to Robert Jones, 
and again describes the bounds of the one acre, as "begin- 
ning at the southeast corner of the Meeting House stable, 
thence to a settled road, S. S. E., about 2414, perches," &c., 
and that "Robert Jones here built a house, and made other 
improvements, and by will devised the sam^e to his grand- 
son, Silas Jones," &c., Deed recorded at Norristown C. H. 
25 SeD. 1883. 

Benjamin Jones, blacksmith, then of Coventry tp., in 
Chester Co., and wife, Tacy, by deed, dated 1 April, 1775, 
for £115, Pensylvania money, acknowledged 3 Aug. 1776, 
recorded with above deed, conveyed this "house and one 
acre lot" to Abraham Streeper (and Streaper), blacksmith. 
He built an addition to the old stone house, and made other 
improvements, and is the first occupant of record who con- 
ducted the place as a stage house and tavern, and this was 
throughout the Revolution and till his decease, in 1794. 
He was tax collector of Lower Merion, in 1779. He died 
intestate, and much in debt, and the court appointed his 
daughter, Mary Streaper, spinster, and Joseph Price, to 
administer, and sell his property and pay his debts. By 
order of the Orphans Court, the tavern and lot were sold 
at public sale, 4 April, 1795, and deed given for the property 
by Joseph and Mary, on 20 Api-il, to Edward Price, who 
"bought it in" for £405 Pensylvania money. This deed to 
the lot describes it: — "beginning at the southeast corner 
of the Merion Meeting House Grave Yard Wall (supposed 
to be the corner of the said Meeting House stable) " ; thence 
along John Dickinson's land, and the land of Robert Hol- 
land, S. 16°, E. 30 per. to a stone in said Holland's land and 
line; thence along the same S. 67°, W. 5% per to a stone; 
thence along John Price's land, and the land of the Meet- 
ing, N. 16°, W. 30 per. to said Grave Yard wall; thence 

[448] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

along the same, N. 67°, E. 5% per. to beginning. By deed 
dated next day, 21 April, 1795, Edward Price conveyed 
the tavern and lot to Mary Streaper. These deeds recorded 
at Norristown, 8 Nov. 1802. Mary leased the property 
first to a Mr. Taylor, and in 1806, to Major William Methey, 
w^ho was the landlord till about 1824, when he was suc- 
ceeded by Jacob Castner, who also had a store in connection 
with the tavern. Mary Streaper married Titus Yerkes, 
and by deed, dated 23 Sep. 1854, they conveyed the tavern 
property to their daughter, Mary, wife of Joel Cook, of 
Philadelphia, grandfather of the late Congressman, Joel 
Cook. By deed, dated 25 Sep. 1854, Joel and Mary con- 
veyed the tavern and lot in fee to David Young, innkeeper, 
who died, and by will, dated 21 Sep. 1858, gave the property 
to his wife; and her heirs, Rees Young, farrier, and 
Matilda and Harriet Young, sold the tavern and lot to 
James Baird, of Haverford, steward, by deed of 8 Sep. 
1883, which describes the property: — as "a lot with a two 
and half, and three story stone hotel, stone stable," &c., 
and the lot: — "beginning at the S. E. cor. of Merion meet- 
ing house grave yard wall, supposed to be the corner of 
the said meeting house stable" ; thence along land now, or 
formerly, of John Dickinson, and land now, or formerly, 
of Robert Holland, S. 16°, E. 20 per. to a stone in the last 
mentioned land; thence along the same S. 67°, W. 5% per. 
to a stone; thence along land now, or formerly, of John 
Price, and the said meeting house land, N. 16°. W. 30 per. 
to the said grave yard wall, &c. Baird also bought from 
same party, two lots on the opposite side of the pike, about 
82 sq. per., "beginning at a point in the middle of the 
Blockley and Merion plank road. The General Wayne Inn 
next passed, in 1891, to Edward Odell, as owner. 

It is tradition that at one time this tavern was called 
the William Penn Inn, and at another. Wayside Inn, during 
the Revolution, and was alternately occupied by officers of 
each army. When Gen. Wayne was a popular hero, and 
returned triumphant from his expedition against the Ohio 

[449] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Indians, the inn was named for him. He was received at 
the inn, on 6th Feb. 1796, by three troops of Philadelphia 
Light Horse, and escorted to a greater reception in the 
city. When Castner was the host, it is an unverified tradi- 
tion that Gen. Lafayette was entertained at the inn, while 
travelling through the country as the Nation's guest, in 
1824-5. When Mr. Young bought the inn, he fitted it up as 
a summer hotel for rich Philadelphians, and it was well 
patronized for many years. When it became the location 
of the first postofifice in Merion, David Oram Young carried 
the mailbag to Paschall's Landing, or Gen. Wayne station, 
on the railroad, subsequently called Elm station, and now 
Narberth. In 1876, the inn was enlarged by the addition 
of its frame portion, and was a popular summer boarding 
house, but of late years it has degenerated into simply a 
"barroom." 

/ In so fertile a country as the Welsh Tract, lying between 
the contending armies during the Revolutionary War, its 
prosperous Quaker farmers did not escape the forced levies 
of both the Americans and the British, and each side helped 
itself freely and liberally to Quakers' property, for it was 
thought if they would not fight they should contribute of 
their stores. It has been said that the British were more 
welcome to what they could find in their raids, because if 
they paid at all, they always paid in gold for whatever they 
took. On the other hand, the Americans paying, gave only 
due-bills, or promissory notes, or orders on their migratory 
treasurer, so their visits were considered depredations. When 
the Americans lay through that terrible winter of 1777-8, 
at Valley Forge, just without the Welsh' Tract, and pro- 
longed their existence with the little that could be found in 
the neighborhood, there are several severe, sharp orders 
extant, issued by Gen. Washington, aimed directly at all 
non-combatants, and suspected tory fai-mers in his vicinity, 
for there were not a few of these in the region "seventy 
miles of my headquarters," as Washington described it in 
an order about them, dated at Valley Forge. 

[450] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

Either there must have been a misrepresentation con- 
cerning the British liberality, or the "cash" story was im- 
ported from elsewhere, for there is evidence that the Welsh 
Tract farmers complained bitterly about the British while 
they held Philadelphia. After their departure from the 
city, they reported their total losses to both armies, through 
the assessors appointed by the Americans to rate damages, 
amounted to £3212, the several Friends' Meetings in the 
Welsh Tract having kept alleged accurate accounts of their 
losses. There was taken from the members all kinds of 
live stock, and all sorts of household goods, but mixed with 
these claims were, as may be seen, the money value of 
other grievances. 

In the Radnor Mo. Mtg. (Men's Meeting) records there 
are preserved several schedules of losses, as "An account of 
Effects taken from sundry friends of the Haverford pre- 
paratory meeting by the contending armies, Taxes, &c." 

"Taken from Isaac Davis of Haverford, by a Detachment 
of the British army, commanded by Earl of Cornwallis, the 
12mo. 12, 1777, £284, 10. 2. From the same by the army 
under George Washington, £5. 17. 0." 

"Taken from John and Samuel Gray, for the use of the 
army commanded by George Washington, £6. 12. 6." 

"From Isaac Bartram and Abraham Liddom, for ditto, 
£3. 0. 8. And from same by British, £48. 16. 0, on 12mo. 
12, 1777. And on same day from Abraham Liddom, 
£47. 14. 9." 

"And from friends of Merion preparative meeting, in 
1777, and beginning of 1778, from John Roberts (the mil- 
ler) , by army under George Washington, horses, cattle, &c., 
about £500." 

. "From Isaac Lewis for a demand of £22. 7. 6, for the 
non-attendance in the militia, by Isaac Williams, collector, 
28. 7mo. 1778, £30." 

"Taken, 8mo. 6. 1778, for a demand of £24. 7. 6, for sub- 
stitute money, and non-attendance in the militia, from 
Amos George, of Blockley, by John Ellis, collector, £33." 

[451] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"Taken, 9mo. 16. 1778, for same and same, from Edward 
George, of Blockley, by the same, a young mare, sold at 
vendue on 19th, £70." 

"Taken from Jesse George, 9mo. 18. 1777, of Blockley, 
by Thomas Rhoads, William Rees and Henry Alexander, 
militiamen, with fixed bayonets, three blankets, £1. 17. 6." 

"8mo. 6. 1777. Taken from Jesse George, of Blockley, 
£24. 7. 6, substitute money, &c., by John Ellis, &c. (sold on 
the premises by public vendue the 12), £28. 19. 6." 

"9mo. 14. 1777. Taken from Thomas George, of Block- 
ley, by Isaac Kite, Jr., and two others of the militia with 
fixed bayonets, two blankets worth. ..." 

"9mo. 19. 1778. Taken for a demand of £1. 7. 6, for non- 
attendance in the militia, from Thomas George, by John 
Ellis, collector, a heifer which he sold the same day for 
£13." 

"From Radnor Friends:" 

"8mo. 1777. From Daniel Maule, of Tredd. (Tredyffrin) , 
for demand of £3. 10. 0, for non-associating, by John Max- 
well, collector, £10." 

"6mo. 1778, from same for the Provincial Tax, by John 
Lloyd, collector, £2. 17." 

"8 & 9 mos. 1778. Taken from same for a demand of £55 
substitute money, & by David Briggs and Jeremiah Eard- 
ley, by order of Lewis Gronow, £68. 14. 5V2-" 

"3mo. 1778, for a demand of £31. 10. 71/2, for substitute 
money, &c., from Evan Lewis, of Radnor, by D. B. and 
J. E., by order of L. G., £72. 4. 0." 

"12mo. 1777, from Evan Lewis for use of army com- 
manded by George Washington, £8. 15. 6. By same, from 
Jesse Meredith, for same, £34. By same, from Abijah 
Richard, for same, £29. By same, from John Jones, for 
same, £29. By same, from James Espen, for same, 
£29. 5. 0." 

Many other Radnor Friends "suffered" in this way, "for 
their country's good," some having to meet demands of 
£120, £60, &c. The Walkers, and Richards, Quakers, were 

[452] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

the greatest "sufferers." One Michael Smith claimed his 
property was damaged to the extent of £451, but by which 
army the record does not tell. These sufferings of the sons 
and grandsons of the first settlers, must have given them 
an impression of what their forefathers had to endure in 
the old country up to the time they emigrated, of which 
they had often heard, and of which much has been printed. 
I don't know that the Friends as a class were "Tories," 
nor did they appear to have been "obnoxious partisans," 
but in their "quiet way" they favored the patriots, their 
countrymen, and as testimony of this a speech by Elias 
Boudinot, in Congress (second session of the first) ; 22 
March, 1790, is of interest. "The indiscriminate abuse that 
has been thrown out against Quakers, without distinction, 
has not comported with the honour, or dignity of this 
House. Not only their characters, but their very names, 
have been called upon, and private anecdotes, relating to 
individuals, been mentioned on the floor. Many of the 
Quakers I have long lived in the habits of friendship with, 
and can testify to the respectability of their characters and 
the regularity of their lives. Their conduct in the late war 
has been arraigned, and they have been condemned in a lump. 
I have known many of them during the war, and impartial 
justice requires it from me, to give some official information 
on the subject. I had the honour of serving the United 
States at the commencement of the war as com.missary- 
general of prisoners. Congress not being able to afford 
them supplies, those unhappy men in this town were re- 
duced to the very depths of distress, without food, or rai- 
ment, without blankets or firing, they suffered everything 
that human nature could bear. In this situation many of 
the Quakers of this city exercised such humanity towards 
them as did honour to human nature. The miserable pris- 
oner not only felt the happy effects of their exertion in his 
favour, but participated in their money, their food, and 
clothing. Nay, such were the jealousies created by this 
conduct, in the British army here, that an armed force 

[453] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

entered the house of one of them, seized his books, and 
though a man of great property and large commercial deal- 
ings, on finding that he had loaned large sums of money 
to our distressed prisoners, he was turned out of their lines, 
and with his family was a refugee during the whole war 
afterwards, separated from his business and property. To 
whom was the care of our prisoners in Philadelphia com- 
mitted? To a Quaker, and I have been witness to the just 
tribute of gratitude and thankfulness paid by great num- 
bers of our unhappy fellow-citizens to that gentleman for 
his kindness and humanity. * * * * j rejoice to say 
that our cause was not carried on by fanaticism or religious 
zeal, but a general struggle for the rights of human nature. 
Then why all this abuse of this particular sect without 
discrimination?" 

The teachings of the ancient Friends naturally would pre- 
vent them from taking any active part in any war, even 
that for freedom from British tyranny, but it was not so 
with some of their sons, who had not learned to restrain 
the fighting blood of their ancestors, the Britons, and self- 
protection they fully believed in. This m.ay be known by 
there being a company organized in Merion, during the 
French and Indian war, or for the "war scare" of 1747. 
In Feb. 1747-8, a company of Associators was recruited 
and organized in Lower Merion, and Edward Jones was 
appointed the captain, Griffith Griffith first lieutenant, Wil- 
liam Coates, second lieutenant, and James Ritchie, ensign. 
This was a "home-guard" company, and did not "see serv- 
ice," but it may be supposed it would willingly have gone 
into battle if called upon. 

Subsequently, Edward Jones became the colonel of a 
regiment of eight companies of associators, and in 1756, he 
was captain of the Merion Troop of Horse, Lynford Lard- 
ner being the lieutenant. 

During the Revolutionary War, the following Merion 
"Welshmen" served in the Philadelphia county militia, 
Peter Richards, and Abel Morgan, as sub-lieutenants, and 

[454] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

Peter Evans, and Algernon Roberts, as commissioners of 
purchases. 

The seventh battalion of Associators of Philadelphia 
county vv^as recruited in Upper and Lower Merion and 
Blockley. The regimental officers, commissioned 6 May, 
1777, were at first, colonel, Jonathan Paschall, of Paschall- 
ville;t lieutenant-colonel, Isaac Warner,* and major, Matt- 
hew Jones. The regiment then was only four companies. In 
the Pensylvania Packet may be seen orders signed by Sam- 
uel Dewees, the Sub-Lieut, of Philadelphia county, calling 
out the companies to drill, similar to the following: — "Nor- 
rington, July 24th, 1778. Notice is hereby given to the in- 
habitants of the Townships of Upper Merion, Lower Merion, 
Blockley, and Kingsessing, that an Appeal will be held at the 
house of William Stadleman, in Blockley Township, for the 
fourth and fifth Classes of Militia, on the 31st day of July, 
at ten o'clock in the forenoon." 

Subsequently, this militia regiment was re-organized, and 
recruited up to eight companies, of eight "classes" each, 
when Isaac Warner was the colonel, and Algernon Roberts, 
the lieutenant-colonel. The First Company was composed 
of all Lower Merion men, Vv^ith Llewellyn Young, captain; 
David Young, 1st lieutenant; Isaac Williams, 2d lieutenant, 
and William Addihi, ensign. In 1780, Matthew Holgate was 
lieutenant-colonel, commanding this battalion, and John 
Bethell was the major. 

The young Friends within the jurisdiction of the Radnor 
monthly meeting, who joined either side during the Revolu- 
tion, were reported to their several preparative meetings 
as "violating the testimonies of Friends," and many for- 
feited membership in the Society rather than leave the 



tCol. Paschall was descended from Thomas Paschal], a pewterer, 
who bought 500 acres from Penn, 26 Sep. 1681, and arrived here in 
following Feb., and died in 1718, aged 83 years. 

*Isaac Warner, the colonel aforesaid, was a son of William Warner, 
mentioned elsewhere as the founder of the "State in Schuylkill." He 
married in 1757, Lydia Coulton, and died in 1784. 

[455] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

army, and humble themselves. The men's meetings disci- 
plined not only for entering into military service, but for 
agreeing to attend "classes," or military exercises; for 
learning military exercises; for assisting in collecting for- 
age for soldiers; for associating vdth soldiers; for paying 
tax to support war; for buying a substitute for the arm.y; 
for paying money to redeem horses or cattle taken by the 
soldiers; for paying muster fines for not attending drill- 
ings; for taking the "test oath," &c. And these rules 
obtained as well in the "1812 War," and the Civil War. 

The known Revolutionary War soldiers from Merion, who 
were of Welsh Quaker blood, buried in the ground of the 
Merion meeting, were Lt.-Col. Algernon Roberts, Thomas 
Roberts, Joseph Roberts, William Roberts, Jacob Hoffman, 
John Wells, John Price, Isaac Davis, Lieut. Thomas Wynne^ 
Daniel Williams, Nehemiah Evans, Jesse George, William 
Holgate, Benjamin Holland, Jonathan Jones, Col. Isaac 
Warner, John Zell, Richard Jones, and Edward Georga, who 
all served in the Pensylvania militia. "A soldier. Died 
at David Gillis', buried Imo. 6. 1781," is the record of an 
unknown soldier buried at the Merion Meeting House, but 
in which army he served is now unknown. 

Of course, there are many more Revolutionary War sol- 
diers buried in other cemeteries in Lower Merion. For 
instance, in the Picking family graveyard, near Mill 
Creek and Righter's Road :— Frederick and Richard Pick- 
ing, and John Kuhn ; "Harriton" graveyard, back of Bryn 
Mawr: — Major William Cochran; the Paptist cemetery on 
Gulf Road, back of Pryn Mawr:— Samuel Davis, William 
Thomas, Joseph Wilson, John Wilson, James Wilson, John 
Elliott, John Young, Jacob Morris, John Cornog, Jacob and 
John Righter, Griffith Smith, John Wilfong, Christopher 
Shubert, Francis Conrad and Penjamin Sheetz, George 
Coulter, and in the German Lutheran cemetery, Ardmore :— 
CoT'Philip Lowry, Casper Weest, John Prooks, John Philler, 
Martin Miller, John and William Smith, John Goodman, 

[456] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

Jasep Grover, William Wagner, David and Llewellyn Young, 
Peter Ott, Sr. and Jr., Peter Trexler, George Horn, Sr. and 
Jr., John Horn, Daniel McElroy, Ludwick Knoll, Martin 
Wise, Adam Grow, Jacob Waggoner, Jacob Latch, Michael 
Simple, John and William Fiss, John Maurer, Nicholas 
Pechin, Obadiah Wildey, J. Righter, and possibly others, 
and nearly all of German blood. Among the "1812" soldiers 
buried here are Col. Conrad Krickbaum, Col. William 
Pechin, Adami and Simon Litzenberg, and John and Jacob 
Stadlernan. 

During the Revolutionary War, not only were there scions 
of the Welsh Quaker families serving in the American 
army, but there were several who were prominent mem- 
bers at that time of the "Pensylvania Lodge," "Lodge No. 
8," or the "Schuylkill Lodge," of the Brotherhood of Free 
and Accepted Masons. This lodge had no habitat, as most 
of its members were serving in the army of the patriots, 
and for this reason it is presumed it was really the cele- 
brated "military lodge" which had its meetings at Valley 
Forge, when the Americans encamped there, in the farm 
house used as headquarters by Gen. Pulaski. This particu- 
lar masonic lodge existed till about 1789-90, vdien it is last 
of record advocating to make the Friends' meeting house, 
at 5th and Race Streets, Philadelphia, the meeting place for 
the Pensylvania Grand Lodge. Among the members of this 
alleged "military lodge," or Lodge No. 8, at that time were 
the following men of Welsh Quaker blood: — John Davis 
(master of the lodge), John Cadwalader (secretary of the 
lodge), James Morris (the treasurer), David Thomas, Jesse 
Roberts, Isaac Thomas, Joseph Price, Abel Morgan, and 
John Richards. (See "Freemasonry in the Continental 
Army," American Historical Register, March, 1885.) 

The "Harriton" graveyard mentioned above, was the 
private burial ground of the Harrison and Thomson fam- 
ilies, who, in 1719, succeeded by purchase to the "Bryn 
Mawr" estate (and gave it the name "Harriton"), of Row- 

[457] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

land Ellis, the early Welsh settler, in what is known now as 
Morris' woods, not far north from the Bryn Mawr College. 

From the will of Richard Harrison,* dated 11 Sep., 1748 
(he died 5 Aug. 1747), we learn that he erected on this 
ground "a certain meeting house, or place of worship," 
* * * * * "It is my will, and I do hereby declare 
that the said m^eeting house, together with a square piece of 
ground containing by estimate two acres, adjoining the 
said house, where several of my children lie interred, shall 
not be sold by my trustees, but that the same house and 
grounds shall forever be excepted and reserved out of my 
said tract of land, and shall remain for the use and service 
of a meeting house, and a place of interment forever." 

This house, prim.arily a school house, was intended by 
Mr. Harrison for the use of an "indulged meeting" of the 
Welsh Friends, and to be used only on occasion of inter- 
ment in its graveyard. The house was not kept in repair 
by the Friends, and the attention of the Radnor monthly 
meeting was called to this neglect in 1792, when a commit- 
tee composed of James Jones, Jr., of Blockley, and Jona- 
than Roberts, of Merion, was appointed to look into the 
matter, and report. On 7. lOmo. 1792, Mr. Roberts wrote to 
Mr. Jones that Charles Thomson (the secretary to the Con- 
tinental Congress), had written to him that he considered 
the Harrison heirs to be the legal trustees for the meeting 
house and graveyard, and as the Friends had not held 
meetings in there for many years, a Presbyterian congrega- 



*Richard Harrison was a Quaker, and had a certificate from the 
Clifts Meeting, Maryland, dated llmo. 1729, which he presented at 
the Phila. monthly meeting, in that year. His wife, Hannah Norris, 
daughter of Judge Isaac Norris, and granddaughter of Gov. Thomas 
Lloyd, was an accepted minister among Friends. Under date of 
llmo. 14. 1730, permission was given by the monthly meeting that 
Mr. Harrison and other Friends have liberty to keep a meeting on 
the First Days, for the winter season, at said Richard's school house. 
The same was extended in several subsequent years, when afternoon 
meetings in the summer were also allowed, and continued till in 1757. 

[458] 



MERION, HAVERFOED, RADNOR 

tion had applied to him for leave to repair the house and 
use it, which request he had granted, and they held religious 
services there occasionally. Mr. Thomson also wrote he had 
no objection to the Friends building a meeting house on the 
property, and would sit with them if they did do so. Sub- 
sequently, the Presbyterians abandoned the house, and it 
fell in ruins, and was removed, and the Friends did not take 
advantage of Mr. Thomson's offer. 

This little private graveyard, with its two dozen graves, 
remained unnoticed in its solitude till in 1838, when an 
item appeared in the Philadelphia National Gazette, stating 
that, "on Second Day morning, 13th of eight month," the 
graveyard was entered stealthily by four men, and the 
graves were opened by them till they found the bodies of 
Charles Thomson (who died 16 Aug. 1824), and his wife, 
and carried them away; the farmer in charge protesting. 
On 16 Aug. Mr. Levi Morris, the owner of "Harriton" adver- 
tised in the paper, "Upon conviction of any person, or per- 
sons, who may have been concerned in this outrage, a suit- 
able reward will be paid." The Gazette called attention 
editorially to the scandal, saying, "What adds to the hein- 
ousness of the offense is that the interment was made there 
in accordance with the wish of the deceased." ***** 
"It is hoped that every means will be taken to discover who 
committed the offense." 

A fev/ days later, the Philadelphia Daily Advertiser con- 
tained the statement as to the removal of Mr. Thomson's 
body, that "it is proper that the public should be informed 
that it was done under the direction of the nearest relatives 
of the deceased, for the purpose of placing it in a situation 
more consonant with the feelings of the family," and that 
the removal v/as made by "an experienced undertaker, with 
proper care, and were reinterred in the new Laurel Hill 
cemetery." This called out a rejoiner, protesting "against 
the right of any persons, in a clandestine manner to remove 
the body to a public cemetery," "for the purpose of giving 
eclat to a particular locality, as there is strong reason to 

[459] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

believe has been done in this instance." This brought out 
a long reply from John Thomson, nephew and executor of 
Charles Thomson, dated New Ark, Delaware, Aug. 24th, 
1838. He explained that the body lay at "Harriton," virtu- 
ally an abandoned, out of the way grave yard, unkept and 
brier-grown, and that he had been refused the privilege of 
erecting a stone to mark the grave, therefore he deemed it 
his duty to remove it to a more suitable place, and erected 
a suitable granite monument (which he did immediately, 
Watson writing the inscription). He feared, he said, that 
the original burial place would be in time diverted from its 
original use, in spite of the will of Mr. Thomson, and his 
letter to Jonathan Roberts. This brought out a sharp 
rejoiner from Mr. Levi Morris, dated 8mo. 31, printed in 
the U. S. Gazette, saying he had been approached as to the 
removal of Secretary Thomson's remains, and declined to 
give his consent, because Mr. Thomson's body was in the 
spot he himself had appointed for its burial. He contra- 
dicted that the burial plot was ever brier-grown and neg- 
lected, on the contrary kept it in good order, as was natural 
for him to do, since his child, and his father-in-law were 
buried there. Mr. Morris had built a stone wall round part 
of the lot, and his v/idow left money to complete it. In time 
the Philadelphia newspapers* and the public became recon- 
ciled to the removal, and decent re-interment of the Secre- 
tary's remains. 

To correct and amplify the statements made in regard 
to the beautiful seat of "Bryn Mawr" or "Harrison" {ante 
pp. 236-7), in which I followed Mr. Glenn's theories (vide 
"Merion in the Welsh Tract"), I have the following more 
lucid information from the venerable Friend and antiquar- 
ian, Mr. George Vaux,t to whom the property belongs, and 



■ *See Phila. Evening Bulletm, 15 Sep. and Oct. 1886. 

tMr. Vaux's interest in this property is, genealogically, as follows: 

Richard Harrison, Jr., of "Harriton," m. in 1717, Hannah, 1696-1774, 

daughter of Judge Isaac and Mary (Lloyd) Norris, of Philadelphia, 

and had Thomas Harrison, (whose sister, Hannah, b. 1728, d.s.p. 

[460] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

where he resides in the summer time, who has been person- 
ally acquainted with the farm since 1856. He says that 
when he was a young man, he examined the date-stone in 
the wall of the house, which much to his regret has been 
taken out and carried away by some person unknown years 
ago, and it showed plainly the figures 170-, and that the last 
figure was apparently a 4, and that the was, without ques- 
tion, distinct. He also says that there is no doubt about it 
that the 300 acres surveyed 24 Feb. 1708, to Rees Thomas 
(p. 171) ,* and William Lewis (Jr., p. 165) , included the land 
on which the old house stands. This tract of 300 acres was 
at the southeast end of plantation, and that the northwest 
line was far to the northwest of the house, in which Rowland 
Ellis lived in 1708. Mr. Vaux's statement is substantiated 
by the recorded facts that Rowland Ellis' son, by his second 
wife, Robert Ellis married Margaret, daughter of William 
John, of the Gwynedd settlement, 3. 9mo. 1705, and died 
about two years later, leaving his wife and an infant daugh- 
ter, Jane Ellis. Rowland Ellis had settled 380 acres and 
one moiety of the dwelling house, the orchards, fields, &c., 
of the plantation, on his son Robert, and after Robert's 
decease, his widow and relict, Margaret Ellis, claimed her 
dovrer and portion for her child out of the 380 acres. For 
some reason unknown, the widow could not get a settle- 



1807, m. 1 Sep. 1774, Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental 
Congress) , of "Harriton," 1729-1759, who vi Frances Scull, and had, 
Amelia Sophia, d. 1820, who m. Robert McClenachan, of Philadel- 
phia, d. 1822, and had, Charles McClenachan, who m. Mary Thomas, 
and had Naomi, who in. Levi Morris, of "Harriton," and Philadelphia, 
and their daughter, Sarah, was the wife of Mr. George Vaux, of 
"Harriton" and Philadelphia. 

*Mr. Vaux says that Rees Thomas lived a little north of the 
north corner of the Roberts road and the Lancaster road, in a stone 
house, which existed till about 1872. As he recollects it, it had lead 
window sashes, and that the interior plaster was combined with 
straw instead of hair, and that wooden pegs were used instead of iron 
nails, and in the living room was a very large fire place, flanked 
by two large settles. 

[461] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

ment with her father-in-law, so the claim was laid before 
the Welsh Friends, of the Haverford Mo. Mtg., for arbitra- 
tion, who decided that Mr. Ellis should pay to Jane Ellis, 
his granddaughter, £180, when she became of legal age, 
and other arrangements were agreed upon for the widow. 
To secure the payments, 300 acres of "Bryn Mawr" were 
conveyed to Rees Thomas and William Lewis, in trust. In 
Oct., 1719, when Rowland Ellis sold "Bryn Mawr" to Rich- 
ard Harrison, the conveyance was for 718 acres, less 20 
acres reserved, or 698 acres,* and included the trust land 
of 300 acres; Thomas and Lewis joining in the conveyance, 
which was made by two deeds, recorded 22 Dec, 1719, giv- 
ing full title to Mr. Harrison. 

So prominent a road as the Lancaster, from the city into 
the disafforested fertile country beyond the Schuylkill, it is 
natural should have been the scene of some military opera- 
tions during the Revolution. Within Merlon's bounds, how- 
ever, they were few, and not of great moment. Hiltz rec- 
ords, 24 Aug., 1777, Sunday, "Our army comm.anded by Gen. 
Washington, marched through the city, crossed the bridge 
over the Schuylkill, proceeded four miles, then turned 
back." From the Journal of the American officer, Lieut. 
James McMichael,t under Sunday, 14 Sep., 1777, we learn: 
"9 A. M., we marched from camp near Germantown, N. N. 
W., for a few miles up a good road, from Philadelphia to 
Reading, then turning W. S. W., we crossed the Schuylkill 
in the center, between Philadelphia and Swedes Ford, eight 
miles from each. We reached the great road to Lancaster, 
at the Merion Meeting House, and proceeded up that road, 
then we camped in an open field, being denied every desir- 
able refreshment." 

It has been decided that this camping ground was on the 
land of Edward ap Rees, or his descendants, the Price 
family, near the 8 Mile Stone. At that time, there was a 



*See Pa. Mag. Vol. XXI. 119. 

fSee Pa. Archives, 2(1 series, XV. 221, and Pa. Mag. XVI, 156. 

[462] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

Price mansion house, recently demolished, in this field, 
beyond the Meeting House, and another -belonging to the 
same family, nearby, across the road, still standing. It is 
presumed that it was at these homes of "strict Friends" 
this young lieutenant and soldiers were denied "desirable 
refreshment" on Sunday. It may be noticed they were not 
refused refreshments, so the supposition is the young man 
was over fastidious. The wonder may be that his men 
did not try to get something more desirable, but this they 
would not dare do, as there were orders positively for- 
bidding any raiding, or depredations, and there are no com- 
plaints extant that dwellers along the route were annoyed 
in any way when Washington moved his army from Ger- 
mantown over the Schuylkill, and up the ravine, or the 
Rock Hollow road, and Meeting House Lane, past the rear 
of the meeting house, and out the Lancaster road, on his 
way "to get between the enemy and Swedes Ford." 

Pickering, in his Journal, tells of the movement of Wash- 
ington's army, the day following the defeat at Bi'andy- 
wine :— "Marched to the Schuylkill (12 Sept. 1777,), part 
crossing and marching to our old camp by the Schuylkill 
Falls," on the east bank. He says that on the next day, 
"the rest of the army crossed, and the whole collected at 
the old encampment." 

Washington's Orderly Book, under Saturday, 13 Sep. 1777, 
records the army as "At Schuylkill Falls, Philadelphia," 
but the General issued his address to his troops, compliment- 
ing them on their gallant conduct at Brandywine, dated 
"Head Quarters, at Germantown, Sep. 13th," and his order 
of march to "Swedes Ford," dated 14 Sep., was from same 
headquarters. 

From Pickering's Journal, we have the further informa- 
tion that, on Sunday, 14 Sep., "the army marched up a few 
miles [from the old camp], and re-crossed the Schuylkill 
at Levering's Ford, the water being up to the waist. We 
advanced about five or six miles that night." This ford was 
at Green Lane, two miles above the falls, but according to 

[4631 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

historians, the crossing was made at Matson's Ford (Con- 
shohocking) , some six miles beyond the falls. In her diary, 
14 Sep., 1777, Elizabeth Drinker also wrote: "It is said 
that G. Washington has left the city and crossed the Schuyl- 
kill this day." 

On Sep. 15th, Monday, Washington wrote a letter dated 
"at Buck Tavern, 3 P. M.," to the President of Congress, 
saying, "We are moving up this road [Lancaster road], to 
get between the enemy and Swedes Ford," Norristown. 
This tavern, now a private house, in Haverford tp., just 
across the Merion line, was eight and a half miles from 
Second Street. That day, Sep. 15th, the army went thirteen 
miles further up the Lancaster road, to its junction with 
the Swedes Ford road, and that night, Washington lodged 
at the house of Joseph Malin, near the White Horse Tavern. 

A few days after this, or on 19 Sep., 1777, the American 
Congress became frightened and packed up its documents, 
loaded them on wagons, amid great excitement and confu- 
sion, and considerable trepidation, and before daylight the 
gentlemen of Congress, with their luggage, fled from Phila- 
delphia, out High Street, over the middle ferry, as best 
they could (for, by request of Washington, the Supreme 
Executive Council of Pensylvania, 14 Sep., had ordered 
the bridge of boats at this ferry "be effectually and imme- 
diately removed, and bring it away into the Delaware, and 
boats be hauled up on land"), thence out the historic road to 
Lancaster, when it became evident that the British were 
sure to capture and enter the capital city, and hardly rested 
in their flight till Lancaster was reached. A fair idea of 
the extent of the scare may be had from the minutes of the 
Supreme Executive Council, which, on 11 Sep., was so 
alarmed that it commanded all shops and factories to be 
closed, and all men to assemble under arms, and as many 
as possible to "rendezvous at the Falls of Schuylkill," "as 
the enemy is near at hand, and this minute engaging our 
army under the command of his Excell'y Gen'l Washing- 
ton." It was ordered to "press waggons in Radnor." Its 

[464] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

documents, some fourteen boxes and two trunks of deeds, 
mortgages, bonds, etc., were sent to Easton, but the Council 
did not flee to Lancaster till 23 Sep., where it and the 
Council of Safety next met on 1 October. 

Taking Lieut. McMichael for good authority, the site 
of the encampment of the army, on the night of Sep. 14th, 
was in Price's field, beyond the meeting house, where the 
Lancaster and Gulf roads meet, this event in the neighbor- 
hood has been marked by an inscribed granite tablet, four 
feet high, located at the junction of the roads, on Montgom- 
ery Avenue, stating: — "On this and adjacent / ground 
Washington's army / encamped September 14, 1777. / 
Erected by Merion Chapter / Daughters of the American / 
Revolution, September 14, 1896, / Ground presented by / 
Samuel R. Mc Dowell." 

Further down the Lancaster road, towards the city, about 
the Black Horse Tavern, near what was then the boundary 
line of the "liberty lands," or Penn's public lands, since 
1784, known as the City Line, and as City Avenue, there 
w&s a hot skirmish between the Americans and the British, 
in Dec, 1777. 

A letter from Gen. James Potter, a gallant, though illiter- 
ate officer, to President Wharton, of Pensylvania, who was 
then at Lancaster with Congress, dated "Headquarters, 
Chester Co. Camp, 15 Dec, 1777," gives an account of this 
affair,* "Last Thursday [11 Dec], the enemy marched out 
of the city with a desine to Furridge, but it was Nessecerey 
to drive me out of the way; my advanced picquet fired on 
them at the Bridge [the floating bridge over the Schuylkill, 
at Market St.] , another party of one Hundred attacted them 
at the Black Hors." Lieut. McMichael, in his Journal, says, 
"the enemy having crossed at the Middle Ferry, attacked 
a party of m.ilitia under Gen. Potter. The losses were incon- 
siderable on both sides." 



*See Pa. Mag. XVII. 423. 

[465] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

From other reports it would appear that this was a recon- 
noissance in force by Gen. Howe, as he went out as far as 
Matson's Ford, and returning, passed the night of Dec. 11th, 
at the Humphreys Mansion House, "a hipped roofed, stone 
and brick house, with lead window frames," &c., which 
stood on Cobb's Creek, not far from the Haverford meet- 
ing house. The mansion was then occupied by Charles Hum- 
phreys (born in 1712) , who was a prominent member of the 
Pa. Assembly in 1763, and a deputy to the First and Sec- 
ond Congresses. In his diary, Christopher Marshall says, 
12 Dec, 1777 : — "News of the day is that Gen. Howe is come 
out again from Philadelphia, with an army ; crossed Schuyl- 
kill at middle ferry; marched up Lancaster Road to the 
Sorrel Horse, thirteen miles from the city, and then 
returned yesterday." And in the same, 15 Dec, 1777, "Upon 
the rumor yesterday of Gen. Howe's army being on the 
Lancaster Road it's said that the papers and records belong- 
ing to the Executive Council were packed up and sent by 
wagons to York Town, [Pa., from Lancaster]. Its said 
that the English army is returning to Phila." 

Further down the Lancaster road, within the Liberties, or 
in Blockley tp., across the present city line, about "Vv^ynne- 
stay," the old honie of Dr. Wynne's son, Jonathan, who 
died here in 1719, there took place several skirmishes be- 
tween outposts of the contending armies, when the Ameri- 
cans tried to cut off from- the British in the city, their sup- 
plies of good things out of Merion. The house at that time 
was occupied by the family of Thomas V/ynne, a "fighting 
Quaker," a lieutenant in the Pensylvania Flying Camp, who 
was then in the field with the army. 

The extant diary of Robert Morton tells of frequent raids 
by the American troopers on the "British ferry boat, oper- 
ated by a pully rope, at the middle ferry." They generally 
succeeded in taking the guard prisoners, and in cutting the 
rope, setting the boat on fire and adrift, much to the annoy- 
ance of the British, and would then retreat out the Lan- 

[466] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

caster road. But on 3 Nov., 1777, Major Clark wrote to 
Gen. Washington, that the British were building three 
bridges of boats, or rafts of logs and boats, at the Middle 
Ferry, so they could drive wagons over the river and fetch 
fire-wood. These bridges had draws, in two places, to allow 
boats to pass on the river. 

It was when his army encamped for the night, 14 Sep., 
1777, on the Lancaster road, that "Tunis's ordinary," or 
Streater's, got the reputation of being a sleeping place of 
Gen. Washington. It's possible he lodged here, of course, for 
his army was encamped only a half mile away. But it is 
also claimed that he spent the night, with Lafayette, at the 
Price house, about which his army lay. It is also claimed 
that Gen. Howe slept in both of the Price houses, and the 
inn, at various times and this is also possible. Unfortu- 
nately for antiquarians' satisfaction, none of these heroes 
have made mention in their writings of these events, so 
important to the Prices, and the reputation of the Gen. 
Wayne Tavern. And it's not surprising that the old Black 
Horse Tavern has also similar traditions as to prominent 
men of the Revolutionary times. In June, 1783, this tavern 
was one of the public houses, on the "great highway," 
raided by the mob of dissatisfied soldiers, when they walked 
from Lancaster to Philadelphia, and stormed the State 
House where Congress was assembled, and so frightened 
this body that it broke up its sitting, and fled to Trenton, 
After Braddock's defeat, 1755, the shattered regiments of 
Dunbar and Hacket passed down the Lancaster road, and 
crossed the Schuylkill, and went down "Conestoga Road" to 
High Street, in the city. The ferry charges for carrying 
these regiments over the Schuylkill amount to £12, and in 
1757, the ferryman, Coultas, was trying to collect this bill 
from the Philadelphia City Council. 

Near the Black Horse Tavern, but about a quarter of a 
mile up the road, still stands the dwelling, somewhat en- 
larged, of the Whig Quaker, Robert Jones, a dealer in lum- 
ber in Revolutionary days. His house was probably built 

[4G7] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

after Scull made his map in 1749-50. Mr. Jones was buried 
at the Merion Meeting House. His only son, and heir, died 
unmarried, and eventually the property, called "Lilac 
Grove," came to Margaret, daughter of a Capt. James 
Boyle, of Chester Co., who took it as her marriage portion 
to Edward Harvey, who was for twenty-eight years a J. P. 
in Merion, when they wedded on 16. 6mo. 1808, at the 
Merion Meeting, where they were both buried. 

Of the twenty-nine persons in that part of Philadelphia 
county, which is now Montgomery county, mentioned by 
name in the proclamation of the Supreme Executive Council 
of Pensylvania, 8 May, 1778, "who have severally adhered 
to, or willingly aided and assisted the enemies of this State, 
and the United States of America," and who were ordered 
to surrender themselves to a justice of the peace of the 
county, on or before 25 June following, to stand trial for 
adhering to the British, there was only one in the list who 
resided in Merion, namely, "John Roberts, late of the Town- 
ship of Lower Merion, miller," and his was a peculiar case 
in itself, so there must have been some mistake about the 
wholesale sympathy of the Welsh Quakers, those of Merion 
anyway, with the "red coats." These following from Haver- 
ford tp., were mentioned in the proclamation of 25 June, 
1778, as having joined the British army: — Robert Kissack, 
weaver; John Brown, wheelwright; James Gorman, and 
Enoch Gorman, cordwainers, and Michael Crickley, laborer. 
None of these were Welsh Quakers, nor prominent men. 

And there was only one of Welsh extraction from Merion 
among the Friends suspected of being British sympathizers 
who were arrested and exiled to Winchester, Va., in 1777. 
This unfortunate was Owen Jones, Jr. It seems that he 
was arrested and caused to "suffer" in mistake for his 
father, the provincial treasurer (p. 158), who was a pro- 
nounced Tory. But according to subsequent revelation, he 
was far from loyal to the Americans, as a disloyal letter 
from young Owen, at Winchester, addressed to John Mus- 

[468] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

ser, Lancaster, Pa., was intercepted by the patriots.* This 
letter revealed a scheme concocted by these men to depre- 
ciate Continental money. On this discovery the Board of 
War transferred the Quakers from Winchester to Staunton, 
Va., so they could be further away from the seat of war, 
and placed young Owen Jones in the jail, and refused him 
writing materials, nor was he allowed to communicate with 
any Friends, till all danger was past. Owen Jones, Jr., died 
in Philadelphia. His will, dated 15 June, 1822, proved 14 
May, 1825, gave his Merion land, 350 acres, to his nephews, 
Owen Jones and John Wister. 

This single instance of discovered disloyalty and of being 
a British sympathizer in 1778, as said above, fell to the lot 
of Mr. John Roberts, a wealthy miller, and a Friend, aged 
about 60 years, a member in good standing of the Merion 
Meeting, and one who was of unquestioned integrity among 
Welsh Quakers. He was always a man of affairs : — in 1773 
he was appointed by the General Assembly one of the com- 
missioners to improve the navigation of the Schuylkill, and 
in 1775, he was a delegate to the convention in Philadelphia, 
which considered the prohibition of future importation of 
Negroes for slaves. 

The story of his alleged treason has been told variously, 
in fiction with much embellishment; in history with many 
unsupported allegations, because the court record of his 
trial was destroyed, or hidden so it has not been found, it 
is said, as were also the personal notes of the chief justice 
who tried his case. In a general way, his capital crime was, 
that he remained loyal to his king and country, and was 
considered to be a too zealous partisan for so prominent 
a man. There was no suspicion of his being still loyal at 
heart to the Crown till the British occupied Philadelphia, 
when he removed into the city from his home in Merion. 
This would only have caused him to be mistrusted, and if 



*See Pa. Archives, Vol. VI. 53; the Journal of Thomas Gilpin, 
or "Exiles in Virginia," and Christopher Marshall's Journal, 11 
Dec. 1777. 

[469] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

he had been captured he would probably have been only- 
exiled, as other Quakers were. But it is said, when he was 
seen accompanying the British superintendent of police, 
Joseph Galloway, in raids for provisions on the Whig fam- 
ilies of Merion, and apparently leading him to the best 
stores in Merion, he was considered as bad as a traitor, if 
he was not one. As to this, he claimed in his trial, it has 
been said, that Galloway forced him to accompany them, 
and show the way. 

As the report of the trial, and the notes of the judge 
have not been preserved, we are able to learn a little of it 
from the extant written notes of the sentence of the Court 
upon Mr. Eoberts pronounced by the chief justice, which 
upon request he sent to the Supreme Executive Council, 
Oct. 29, 1778, and which is printed verbatim in the Pen- 
sylvania Packet newspaper, 7 Nov., 1778. It seems that 
when some Pensylvania Friends, suspected of being Brit- 
ish sympathizers, were arrested and were about to be sent 
in a body, under guard, in exile to Winchester, Virginia, as 
mentioned above, Mr. Roberts asked the British General 
Howe, it was alleged, for the loan and command of a troop 
of horse so that he might try to release the Friends, and 
that Gen. Howe declined this request, not being willing to 
risk the loss of his troop, and because these Quakers were 
of no more use to him than to Gen. Washington. This was 
made the principal evidence of Mr. Roberts' being guilty 
as charged, according to Judge McKean's notes of the sent- 
ence he passed on him. That Mr. Roberts, who was known 
to be a Quaker, offered to command the cavalry and try to 
rescue other Quakers known to be adherents of the enemy, 
convinced the trial judges that Mr. Roberts was certainly 
not loyal to the Americans, and possibly also influenced the 
jury which found him guilty of aiding the enemy, and being 
a traitor. 

Mr. Roberts may have supposed the British would never 
leave the city, and much less lose the colonies, so he stayed 
on with them in Philadelphia. But when they began to 

[470] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

evacuate the city, he realized his mistake, and, since he had 
considerable property in Merion, he decided that he had 
better get the good will of the Americans, and under their 
protection again. Therefore, so the story goes, he hurried 
out to Washington, at Valley Forge, on getting the first 
intimation of the evacuation of the city, and gave him the 
news, saying he had learned it while he was on a secret 
visit to the Middle Ferry, or the floating-bridge, over the 
Schuylkill, at High, or Market Street. 

But Washington had previous information about the pro- 
posed movement of the British, and he had also some as to 
Roberts, while it might have amused him to see the old 
Friend turning his coat and skipping from one shelter to 
another, if he had not had good information that Mr. 
Roberts had been an aggressive "traitor" while sojourning 
in the enemy's camp. Before the end of June, 1778, Mr. 
Roberts was arrested, under the proclamation mentioned, 
on suspicion of disloyalty to the Am.erican cause, and adher- 
ing to the enemy. On this charge he was shortly brought 
to trial before Chief Justice McKean, in the State House, 
Philadelphia, and after trial before a jury, on the testiroony 
of many witnesses, judging from the notes (printed in 
"Penna. Archives," Vol. VII, p. 44, etc.), of the trial of 
Abraham Carlisle, of Philadelphia, a house carpenter, who 
was also tried and convicted of being a traitor by this court. 
He was found "guilty of being a traitor to his neighbors, his 
kith and kin, and the just cause of his native land," was 
sentenced by Judge McKean to be "taken back to the jail, 
and from there to the place of execution, and then to be 
hanged by the neck until dead." As the Judge did not set a 
date for the execution, it may have been left to the con- 
venience of the sheriff. Justice McKean says in his 
"Sentence" that Roberts's counsel moved for a new trial, 
which he disallowed. 

Mr. Roberts' lawyers were Ross and Wilson, of the Phila- 
delphia Bar, but it seems the honors of the legal contest 
were carried ofi" by the Commonwealth's council, the attor- 

[471] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

ney-general, and Sergeant and Reed, of the Philadelphia 
Bar, because at first the case against John Roberts was 
weak, and was won by methods which would not be toler- 
ated in times of peace and common sense. That is, Mr. 
Roberts was arrested, and put on trial for high treason 
against the Commonwealth, under the Act of the Pensyl- 
vania Assembly of 1777. The only charge against him, with 
specifications, or his particular act of treason was that he 
tried to persuade a man to enlist in the English army, "an 
enemy at open war with this State," and therefore, was 
guilty of high treason. But the law defining the Act: — 
"there must be an actual enlistment of the person persuaded 
to constitute the offense of treason." And the Court said : — 
"the word persuading in the Act means to succeed, and that 
there must be an actual enlistment of the person persuaded, 
in order to bring the defendant within the intention of the 
clause." 

The person Roberts persuaded and attempted to prevail 
upon to enlist in the British army was produced as a wit- 
ness against him. He said Roberts persuaded him (which 
Roberts confirmed), but did not convince him, so he did not 
enlist. This, under the Judge ruling, should have ended the 
prosecution. Next, it was tried to convict him on his con- 
fession, but as it was not supported by evidence, the con- 
fession was insuflficient, the Court ruled. But at length it 
was legally and satisfactorily proved he "aided and 
assisted" the enemy "by joining them," and therefore, he 
was guilty of treason. 

In Oct. 1778, immediately after the conviction, and sen- 
tences had been pronounced on Roberts and Carlisle, peti- 
tions and memorials were showered upon the Supreme Ex- 
ecutive Council of Pensylvania, signed by hundreds of prom- 
inent citizens, and army and navy officers, asking "from 
feelings of Humanity," respite of the sentences till the close 
of the next session of the Pensylvania General Assembly, 
desiring that body's opinion of both cases, although the 
signers were "sensible that the unfortunate John Roberts 

[472] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

and Abram Carlisle most justly merit the Sentence which 
the Law has lately pronounced against them, and of the 
fairness of the trials." They told of the good characters of 
the men, and, because the enemy had left the State, and 
were never likely to return again, these men would never 
again have opportunity to do as they had done, they asked 
the respite, not hoping for pardon, of course, but at most 
for term imprisonment. Prominent Friends individually, 
and ten members of the Grand Jury came before the Coun- 
cil and asked for mercy for Roberts and Carlisle. A heart- 
rending appeal for pardon was sent in signed by Mr. 
Robert's wife and children, and their nearest relatives, the 
families of Meteer, Downing, Baldwin, Roberts, Howell, 
Wister, Jones, Biddle, Lloyd, Whelen, Van Lear, Bond, &c. 
Other petitions for mercy came from inhabitants generally 
of the counties of Philadelphia and Chester, and from in- 
habitants of the Welsh Tract townships. One hundred 
"Beneficiaries of John Roberts" asked his pardon, "because 
he used his influence with the British, and stopped them 
from plundering them." Even ten members of the jury 
that sat in their cases and convicted them, addressed a peti- 
tion to the judges of the Supreme Court and prayed for 
respite till the General Assembly should consider the cases, 
and the judges v/ho sat in the trials, McKean and Evans, 
recommended, on 18 Oct. that the jury's request be com- 
plied with. 

When the many memorials, and particularly the petitions 
of the judges and the jury, who tried the cases of Roberts 
and Carlisle, were presented in the Supreme Executive 
Council, it decided to review the cases, and, accordingly, 
on 21 Oct., wrote the Chief Justice, McKean, "The Council 
have now before them the cases of John Roberts and Abra- 
ham Carlisle, the determination of which is highly interest- 
ing, not only to the criminals, but also to the public. Coun- 
cil therefore wish to be favoured as soon as possible with 
your notes taken on the trial. They are the more desirous 
of this from the recommendation of the Petitions of divers 

[473] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

of the Jurymen, signed by you, and the Hon'le John Evans, 
Esq., in the case of John Roberts. They remark that you 
have not mentioned any equitable circumstances which 
ought to be allowed weight in their determination in this 
case." 

Judge McKean, it may be presumed, sent his rough notes 
on both cases, though, as said above, only those on the trial 
of Mr. Carlisle have been preserved, and they were con- 
sulted in the meeting of the Council on 2 Nov., on which 
day it received petitions, asking for mercy, if not pardon, 
from Mr. Roberts and his wife, and Mr. Carlisle and his 
wife. This "Court of Last Resort," the Supreme Executive 
Council of Pensylvania, adjourned, without reaching a 
conclusion, considering both cases separately, till the fol- 
lowing day, 3 Nov., when they resumed the matter, "and 
after solemn consideration," say the minutes, "and the 
Question being put:— Shall a Reprieve be granted to John 
Roberts and Abraham Carlisle, or either of them. The 
same was Carried in the Negative." Then, this serious 
matter being concluded, the gentlemen of the Council 
turned their attention to finding out how many planks were 
actually needed to repair a bridge in Kensington. 

There is nothing in the minutes to shov/ if the decision 
was unanimous, or how each member voted, but it does tell 
that Messrs. Arndt and Hambright were not present when 
the vote was taken, and that those present and probably 
voting were Messrs, Hart, Mackay, Will, Scott, and Smith, 
and the vice-president, George Bryan, presided. On the 
day of execution, 4 Nov. the minute is only "Council met," 
and it may be presumed adjourned, as there is no record 
of business. That day, Wednesday, must have been one 
long remembered in Philadelphia, for all of its prominent 
citizens thought Roberts and Carlisle should have had a 
hearing of their cases by the Assembly, but it was "war 
times," and captured and convicted and sentenced "traitors" 
must be summarily punished for examples to others. 

The Philadelphia tri-weekly newspaper. The Packet, of 

[474] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

5 Nov. 1778, gives only three lines of space to this sad event, 
saying, "Yesterday, Abraham Carlisle* and John Roberts 
were executed on the common of this city, pursuant to their 
sentence." Other Philadelphia "newspapers" of that week 
did not mention the affair, although it was the "feature" 
of the week. 

Mr. Roberts was buriedf with his ancestors and relatives 
in the graveyard of the Merion Meeting, on 6th. llmo., his 
burial being recorded, without comment, under this date, 
"John Roberts, miller." 

The Radnor Monthly Meeting had refused to interfere in 
behalf of Mr. Roberts, because as a body of Friends it could 
not sanction many of his actions, especially wishing to lead 
the British troop into a battle with the guards conducting 
the Quakers beyond the State. This probably was agree- 
able to the desire of the superior meeting, as in the minutes 
of the Radnor Mo. Mtg., 8. 8. 1778, "the case of John 
Roberts, miller," was under consideration, when it was 
decided to apply to the "meeting for sufferings," in Phila- 
delphia, "for advice and assistance in his distressing situa- 
tion," and the following Friends were appointed to attend 
to this, John Gray, Jacob Jones, Evan Lewis, and Jesse 
George. Individually, however, the members did their ut- 
most to save the life and honor of their old neighbor, born 
and raised among them. 

Mr. Roberts' great property was confiscated by the State, 
on order of the Court, and sold at public sale, in Philadel- 
phia, 21 June, 1780. The proceeds of the sales were handed 
over to the University of Pensylvania for educational pur- 
poses. Of his estate, thus confiscated, there were farms 



*In her Diary, Elizabeth Drinker tells of the incidents connected 
with the hanging of Mr. Carlisle, who was her neighbor in Phila- 
delphia, and of his funeral, and that George Dilwyn and Samuel 
Emlen spoke at the grave. See also Sabine's "Loyalists of the 
American Revolution." 

fJohn Thomas Peggy, the official gravedigger of Merion Meetings, 
who prepared his grave, was buried near him, on 7. 7mo. 1779. 

[475] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

amounting to 318 acres, his mansion house, north of Ard- 
more, on Mill Creek, and two gristmills, a sawmill, tena- 
ments, and 300 acres of land on the Schuylkill, with three 
dwelling houses, a sawmill, a powdermill, an oilmill, and 
other property. 

Remains of parts of the roadbed and cuts of the old 
"Columbia Railway," which traversed Merion tp., years be- 
fore the first of the four tracks of the great "Pensylvania" 
were laid, are, with a few old mills and cabins, the only 
"ruins" of interest in the Welsh Tract. A brief sketch of 
this first railway is appropriate here, because the Welsh 
Tract was the part of the State first to have a railroad, and 
because a Welshman, Oliver Evans, of Philadelphia, was 
the first inventor who conceived the idea, as early as in 
1773, of propelling carriages on land by steam power, 
though he only utilized it on his automobile earth excavator 
till in 1805, when he gave exhibitions of his steam propelled 
vehicle, and took passengers around Center Square, Phila- 
delphia. From that time, there were many imitators and 
improvers of his idea — Leiper, Stevens, and others. 

John Stevens (John ap Stephen), of Welsh extraction, 
was the father of the railroad system of the State. The 
legislature on 31 March, 1823, passed an act permitting the 
laying and operating a railway from Philadelphia to Colum- 
bia, at the request of Mr. Stevens and others. But this act 
was repealed and supplanted by another with more liberal 
scope, approved 7 April, 1826, incorporating the "Columbia, 
Lancaster and Philadelphia Rail Road Co." (which came to 
be known simply as "the Columbia Railway"). In 1828, the 
shares in this Company having been sold, the legislature 
passed an act pi'oviding for the constructing of the road. It 
was opened for traffic in Sep. 1832, but only from Broad and 
Callowhill Streets, in the Northern Liberties, to Paoli.* At 

*Hazard's Register, Philadelphia, 7 Feb. 1829, contains the full 
report of the Engineer, Major John Wilson, on laying out, cost, &c., 
of the railway from Columbia to Philadelphia, Broad and Vine Sts., 
in Aug., &c., 1828. See also Pensylvania Railroad Men's News, 
June, 1896. 

[476] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

first, the Schuylkill was reached only by stages from Broad 
Street, and passengers and light freight were ferried over 
the river to the "rail cars," at Callowhill Street, which 
horses dragged to the "Belmont incline," and then from the 
top of the hill up to Paoli over the rails. But this method 
of travel obtained for only a few weeks, when the "locomo- 
tive engine" v/as put into service, and the route much ex- 
tended, west and to Broad Street, but it was not until in 
April, 1834, that the road was completed to Lancaster. The 
finished portion was formally opened on 9 Dec. 1833, as 
well as a spur from Vine to South Streets, on Broad Street, 
and the big red, wooden bridge over the Schuylkill. 

This pioneer railroad had features of its own. Its light 
iron rails were laid in iron chairs, bolted to sills of stone 
about 22 X 14 X 12 inches in dimension. Y/hen much of the 
original roadbed was abandoned for the present one, these 
stones went to other uses. Sometimes we see them doing 
duty as carriage steps by driveways. 

In a general way, for the old road simply meandered 
through Merion tp., with many curves and digressions to 
avoid hollows and hills, and of course tradition has it, 

"Colwnbia's iron rails 
Lay un Indian trails." 

The route, before it was vacated, was through the ancient 
Liberty Lands, or Blockley tp. and what is now Fairmount 
Park to the base of Peter's Hill, near "Tom Moore's cot- 
tage," where the carriages were drawn up on an "incline" 
of about 180 feet, by a stationary engine and cable to "Bel- 
mont," the home of the Peters family. 

Thence the route, over the George property, crossed the 
county, or city line, on the old south line of "Pencoyd," and 
a half mile north of the old road to Lancaster, then through 
Jacob Stadleman's property, and across the lands of Joseph 
Evans and the S. Stadleman estate, crossing the old Lan- 
caster road, at the old McCalla store, and paralleling it, 

[477] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

past the General Wayne Inn and the Merion Meeting House, 
crossing the properties of Bowman, John Wainwright, John 
Underwood, William Thomas, Edward Price, to Liberty- 
ville, where it again crossed the Lancaster road, and parel- 
leling it again, passed over the lands of Owen Jones, and 
over Cherry Lane, and through the old farm of John Wis- 
ter, beyond which, at the Montgomery Avenue tollgate, and 
where Church road intersects this avenue (the old Lan- 
caster road), passing the new High School building, it again 
crossed the Lancaster road, and thence southwestwardly, 
between what is now Coulter avenue, and the tracks of the 
Pensylvania Railroad Company, it continued through 
Athensville (now Ardmore) , and so on, crossing the Phila- 
delphia and Lancaster pike, passing between Founders 
Hall, of Haverford College, and the old Haverford Meeting 
House, to White Hall Inn to Paoli, and out of our district) 
towards Lancaster. When the Pensylvania Railroad Com- 
pany took over the "Columbia Road" it vacated the route to 
Athensvill8,and established the one now used, but for years 
it used the balance of the old roadbed, passing White Hall 
Inn. 

A poster advertisement of the "Through Line from Phil- 
adelphia to St. Louis," the "Pioneer Fast Line," dated Phil- 
adelphia, April, 1837, advertised, with pictures of an engine 
and one passenger car, and a canal boat, drawn by three 
horses : "By Rail Road and Canal Packets, / from Philadel- 
phia to Pittsburgh, / through in 31/2 days, / and by Steam 
Boats, carrying the United States Mail, / from Pittsburgh to 
Louisville, / starts every morning, from the corner of Board 
& Race St. / In large and splendid eight wheel cars, via Lan- 
caster and Harrisburg Rail Roads, arriving at the latter 
place, at 4 o'clock, in the afternoon, where / passengers will 
take the Packets, which have all been fitted up in a very 
superior manner, having been built expressly for the accom- 
modation / of Passengers, after the most approved models of 
Boats used on the Erie Canal, and are not surpassed by the / 
Boats used upon any other Line. / For speed and comfort, 

[478] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

this Line is not excelled by any other in the United States. / 
Passengers for Cincinnati, Louisville, Natchez, Nashville, 
St. Louis, &c. / Will alvv^ays be certain of being taken on 
without delay, as this Line connects with the Boats at Pitts- 
burgh, carrying the Mail. / Office, N. E. corner of Fourth 
and Chestnut St. / For Seats apply as above, and at No. 200 
Market Street; at the White Swan Hotel Race Street; at 
the N. E. Corner of Third and ¥/illow Street ; / No. 31 South 
Third Street, and at the West Chester House, Broad Street. 
/ A. B. Cummings, Agent. / " 

The list of advertised stopping points in 1850, on the 
"Central Pensylvania," its successor, also give an idea of 
the direction of the "Columbia Railway" beyond the river. 
These were Merion, or Merionville, Libertyville, Athens- 
ville, Haverford, V/hitehall, West Haveriord, Villa Nova, 
Morgan's Corner, Eagle, Reesville, Paoli, &c. The city 
depot was then at Broad and Cherry streets. Before the 
junction with the new road at Columbia, the old railway 
in the year 1849, carried 90,250 passengers, but after the 
connection with the "Pensylvania," the Columbia is credited 
with 146,320 passengers, in 1852, and 162,136 in the next 
year, and its freight increased proportionately, showing the 
value of the route extended. 

The following few items from the 1860 issue of "The 
Business Guide of the Pensylvania Railroad" give us some 
knowledge of the "Main Line" and its stations at that time. 
It says that West Philadelphia is the first station on the 
road, and that here "locomotive engines" are attached to 
trains, the carriages having been drawn there by mules 
from the city. The next stops are at Hestonville, 3 miles, 
and City Line, 5 miles, but these vrere only flag stations. 
The next stops were at Merion and Libertyville. But they 
were also only "flag stations for the convenience of a thickly 
settled country, principally the country residences of Phila- 
delphians." The post office for these points was at General 
Wayne. Of our thriving town of Ardmore, then called 
Athensville, that it is 71^ miles from the city. "It has no 

[479] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

railroad agent," and the post office is Cabinet, with Joseph 
Pearce as the postmaster. Of Haverford: "the post office for 
this station, and for Whitehall, is West Haverford. Charles 
Anhurs has a line large boarding house here, well patron- 
ised by Philadelphians in summer." V/hitehall, "this is the 
first regular station on the Road, ten miles from Philadel- 
phia." West Haverford was a flag station, and had no rail- 
road agent, but had a post office, with John G. Henderson 
as postmaster. Villa Nova, too, was only a flag station, and 
its post office was "Radnor," which was also the post office 
for Morgan's Corner, another flag station, thirteen miles 
from Philadelphia. Eagle was the next regular stop after 
Whitehall, and Eliza Lewis was the railroad agent. The 
post office was "Spread Eagle," Paoli, "20 miles from Phila- 
delphia, and 600 feet above tide water," was the third regu- 
lar stop. 

When George B. Roberts became the president of the 
Pensylvania Railroad, being a lineal descendant of the earl- 
iest settlers of the Welsh Tract, and interested in its 
annals, he renamed a few of the stations of the railroad in 
the Welsh property for places in Wales from which came 
the first settlers, hence we have Bryn Mawr for the home 
in Wales and here, near where the station stands, of Row- 
land Ellis, Rosemont for the name of the seat near the 
station of Rees Thomas, Merion, Haverford, and Narbeth, 
or Narberth. But Ardmore, for some reason unknown, was 
substituted for Athensville from a town in county Water- 
ford, Ireland. But as few of the Welshm.en came from the 
county of Anglesea, he was not obliged to name a station 
after its celebrated village, Llanfairnwllgwyngyllgogerywy- 
rndrobwllilandyssiliogogogogoch, much to the comfort of 
the conductors. 

The first substantial improvement in Lower Merion, of 
the old Welsh lands, along the "Pensylvania Central." or 
our "Main Line," that was the beginning of the making 
"along the Main Line" celebrated for its villages and coun- 

[480] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

try seats, was Humphrysville, the Bryn Mawr settlement. 
It was plotted in 1868-9, to extend from the Philadelphia 
and Lancaster turnpike northward to the Gulf Road, and 
from Roberts' Road eastward to old Lancaster road, on 
lands purchased from Messrs. Robert N. Lee, Benjamin 
Tilghman, Hugh Barrett's estate, Charles J. Arthur, Joseph 
C. Turner, Thomas Humphreys. "Windon," Nicholas Hart, 
Benjamin Shank, and others, and deeded in 1868 to William 
H. Wilson. This was land originally patented by William 
Penn, 13. Imo. 1684, to Edward Prichard, in two tracts, 
1,200 acres (adjoining "Rees Radrah's" land), and 1,250 
acres (adjoining land of John Humphrey). The latter 
tract, on which much of the town stands, Prichard sold in 
fee to John Eckley, who sold, 1. 3mo. 1685, to Launcelot 
Lloyd 100 acres, (adjoining Rowland Ellis on the east 
northeast, and John Humphrey on the south southwest), 
being "one mile in length and fifty perches in breadth." 
This land Lloyd sold, 20. 5mo. 1691, to Philip Price. Eckley 
devised, by his will 17 July, 1686, the balance to his wife 
Sarah, who by deed, 15. 6mo. 1692, conveyed 300 acres 
' (adjoining Ellis Hugh) to Rees Thomas. And Prichard 
conveyed, 25 Nov., 1701, to said Rees Thomas 325 acres. 
After this, these lands passed through many hands till con- 
veyed in 1868 to Mr. Wilson. 

The value of these lands increased rapidly after the Civil 
War. For instance, Rees Thomas 3d., died intestate, and 
seized of 308 acres, and improvements, appraised in 1788 
at £1423. In 1864, Robert N. Lee paid $21,000 for about 
59 acres of this farm land, and in 1868, sold 40 acres of the 
same, lying on Buck Lane and Gulf Road, to Mr. Wilson 
for $28,573, and Wilson paid $10,469 for 14 other acres 
of Thomas's land, and for 6 acres which Hugh Barrett sold, 
in 1865, to Nicholas Hart for $2,212, Mr. Wilson had to 
pay $6,225, in 1868; but he paid only $31,184, for another 
tract of 146 acres which had belonged to the Morgans. In 

[481] 



! 

WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

1850, these Bryn Mawr lands, outside of Humphreyville, 
were owned by Benjamin and Thomas Humphreys, Louisa 
Evans and William Hesson. 

The "old Lancaster road" also led, by the way of the 
older Haverford road, which crossed it, to the Upper, or 
Scull's Ferry, opposite Fairmount. At this ferry lived Mr. 
Scull, the maker of a valuable map of the city of Philadel- 
phia and vicinity, published in 1750. At that time. Scull's 
neighbors were the families of Meredith and Warner, just 
above him, on the west side of the Schuylkill. This Warner 
family descended from Capt. William Warner (son of John, 
of Draycot) , who was baptized at the Blockley church, in 
Worcestershire, 8 July, 1627. He was a settler beyond the 
Schuylkill before Penn received his royal grant, (having 
come here from Connecticut, it is supposed) , and was here 
to welcome the first Merion settlers. His will was proved 
in 18 Oct., 1706. His eldest son, by wife Ann, namely Isaac 
Warner, will proved in April, 1722, married on 30 Nov., 
1692, Ann Craven, and had William Warner, of "Eagles- 
field," on Schuylkill, who was the founder of the celebrated 
State in Schuylkill Fishing Company, the oldest social club 
in Pensylvania. His will was proved in Sep., 1766. 

This club was started in May, 1722, with a select few of 
Mr. Warner's neighbors. He leased the club an acre of land 
on the river, for the nominal rental of three sun-perch per 
annum, payable in the Spring, and the payment thereof 
to the "Lord of the manor" was always a ceremonious func- 
tion. On this lot, which was enclosed by a high fence, the 
"Company" erected its "castle," having organized itself into 
a "State" of independent colonists, with a governor, as- 
sembly, sheriff, etc., in 1732. (Was this intended as a par- 
ody on the Welsh Quakers' "Barony"?) After the Fair- 
mount dam was built, and ruined the sport here, the "fisher- 
men" removed the "castle" to Rambo Rock, below Gray's 

[482] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

Ferry, in the Schuylkill, where it still stands, the scene of 
memorable annual fish-dinners, and the concocting of the 
still more celebrated insiduous "Fish-house Punch." 

In 1750, according to Scull, coming from town on the 
then so-called Lancaster road, "only a dirt-road, corduroyed 
in low places," the first dwellings met were those of David 
and Edward George, in Blockley tp., on the upper side of 
the road. Further on, on the lower side, was the Humph- 
rey's house, and nearly opposite, in Blockley, was Jonathan 
Wynne's "Wynnestay," still there, with "Stradleman," or 
William Stadleman's and Bailert's ( ?) beyond, near the 
old road that led to the ferry, (at the "Wissahickon creek"), 
down which road was Hugh Evans's house. On the lower 
side of the Lancaster road was Richard George's home, 
near Anthony Tunis's. On the road, beginning opposite 
Tunis's, leading to Garrig's, and the falls ferry, was the 
John Roberts house, still there. Beyond Anthony Tunis's, 
across the road, was Joseph Tunis's house, but the alleged 
old inn was not placed on the map between Tunis's and the 
meeting house. Opposite the Merion meeting house 
was Griffith's house. Along the old Haverford road, 
about two miles out from where it crossed the Lan- 
caster road, was a Thomas home, on the lower side, then 
came Rhoads', back of whom was Williams' and Moore's. 
Further along this road, on the upper side, were the homes 
of Roberts, Hughes, and Llewellyn, and opposite a Bevan. 
None of the houses on this map were located exactly right. 

Long before the Civil War, Philadelphians had handsome 
summer homes along the old Lancaster road, and the open- 
ing of the Columbia railway, some six miles through the 
township, gave further great impetus to Lower Merion as 
a summer residential district. But the Philadelphia and 
Reading Railroad, opened in Dec, 1839, going about 71/2 
miles through the township, passing over the river ends of 
the land taken up by some of the Thomas and Jones Com- 
pany, never was particularly beneficial to Merion in this 
respect, though its stopping places were Pencoyd, Mill 

[483] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Creek, and Spring Mills. But the Pensylvania Railroad, the 
worthy successor of the "old Columbia railway," has cer- 
tainly been the making of towns in the Welsh tract. I refer, 
of course, to those along its route, for the settlements dis- 
tant from it, yet using it, as Merion Square, or Gladwyn, 
General Wayne, Libertyville, Academyville, Cooperstown, 
Garretsville, &c., are but little grown in fifty years, and in 
half that time nearly a dozen thriving villages have grown 
up in the township along "the Pensylvania," several being 
three times as large as the combined towns of the township 
in 1860. 

Naming farms, as gentlemen named their seats in Eng- 
land, (and not as in Maryland, retaining the name given 
a tract by the surveyor, for his convenience, on making the 
original plot), was a fashion early imported into the Welsh 
Tract. A map of sixty years ago shows the following' 
named farms in Lower Merion, a few of which still bear 
their old names, and the mansion houses are still standing, 
Green Hill farm, 214 ac, Israel W. Morris; Red Leaf, 276 
ac, Thomas P. Reming; Fair Hill, 64 ac, Henry C. Bevan; 
Poplar Grove, 40 ac, Thomas Bealer; Maple Grove, 78 ac, 
Josiah Hunting; Twine Grove, 24 ac, Thomas Bealer; 
Clover Hill, 100 ac, James L. Paiste; Penn Grove, 72 ac, 
Stephen Paschall; Wynne Wood, 269 ac, Owen Jones; St. 
Mary's, 167 ac, John Wister; Walnut Grove, 130 ac, An- 
thony Zell; Rose Hill, 80 ac, Jacob Latch; Juniper Bank, 
25 ac, Mary Bowman; Pencoyd, 50 ac, Isaac W. Roberts; 
Marble Hill, 111 ac, Anthony L. Anderson; Ashland Hill, 
27 ac, Paul Jones; Narrows Hill, 88 ac, David Jones; 
Glanrason, 163 ac, Silas Jones; Green Dell, 100 ac, Abra- 
ham Levering ; Harriton, 594 ac, Levi Morris ; Eagle Farm, 
100 ac, John Supplee; Brookfield, 336 ac, Frederick W. 
Porter; Green Bush Farm, 87 ac, Benjamin B. Yocum; 
Prospect Hill, 120 ac, Joseph Crawford; Walnut Hill, 135 
ac, Eleanor Curwen ; Windon Farm, 147 ac, Thomas Hum- 
phreys; Fountain Green, 52 ac, Wm. J. Underwood; Rock 
Hill, Henry K. B. Ogle; Mine Hill, 133 ac, Heydock Gar- 

[484] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

rigues; Break Neck Hill, 58 ac, Joseph Kirkner; Federal 
Spring, 15 ac, John Underwood; Elm Hall, 35 ac, John 
Wainwright; Green Bank, 114 ac. Dr. James Jenkins; Lilac 
Grove, 40 ac, Edward Harvey; Homeworth, 25 ac, Mary- 
Jones;* Penn Cottage, 73 ac, Mary Penn-Gaskell ; The 
Orchard, J. George Kiess. 

The Welsh Friends were the first settlers who "Built 
God a Church" in the township of Merlon, and their meet- 
ing house was the only place for public Christian worship 
in it for seventy-five years. 

"The sound of the church-going bell, 
Thou, valleys and rocks, never heard," 

till about 1770, when the German Lutherans erected a little 
stone church, part of which is now standing in their ceme- 
teiy at Ardmore. 

The earliest evidence of the existence of this religious 
society was in Oct., 1765, when the trustees of the German 
Lutheran Congregation, Messrs. William Stadelman, Fred- 
erick Grow, Stephen Goodman, Christ. Getzelman, George 
Baasler, and Simon Litzenberg, purchased 66 acres of land, 
at £4.3.0, per acre, from John Hughes, who had bought the 
same at sherifii's sale, on 3 Sep., 1765. This was to secure 
a location for a burying ground, and a church site (as, like 
the early Welsh Friends, the German settlers had held their 
religious meetings in private houses in Merion), for all 
German Protestants, — the German Reform and Lutheran 



*Mary Jones, wife of Jonathan Jones, whose old house "Home- 
worth" is still standing, (on the McFarland property), off of Church 
Road, Ardmore, near and north of the railroad, has left an interest- 
ing account (see Pa. Mag. XXIV, p. 231), of an entertainment of 
Granville John Penn, a descendant of the Founder, by Mary Penn- 
Gaskell, (born McClenanchan, wife of Thomas Penn-Gaskell, who 
was a cousin of the guest), of "Penn Cottage," on the old Gulf 
Road, at the nine-mile stone, given Imo. 31. 1852. She had at five 
o'clock dinner all of the relatives and descendants of William Penn, 
and there came in the evening descendants of many of the Welsh 
Tract pioneers, and first prominent families of Philadelphia. 

[485] 



^m: 



ELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Congregations, — conjointly. The dwelling house on this 
property was used as a church by the Germans till in 1769. 
In this year, the 66 acre lot was conveyed to Stephen Good- 
man, who thereupon conveyed 133 perches of the same to 
the trustees of the Society of Lutherans of Merion. Forty 
years afterwards, the Society increased its holdings for 
interments, and, in 1810, put up the stone wall about the 
cemetery. 

In 1769, the Society built a log church on the 133 perches, 
which was used thirty years. In 1787, it erected a stone 
school house, still standing. In 1800, it built a stone addi- 
tion on the east end of the school house, and used the 
whole for church purposes until the present St. Paul's 
church was built on Lancaster Avenue, in 1833. The rec- 
ords of the Merion German Lutherans begin with the bap- 
tism, on 17 Oct., 1765, of three infants, Jacob, son of Jacob 
and Margaret Schlonhouse, (sponsors, Tobias and Barbara 
Taumiller) , Jacob, son of John and Annie Leix, and John, 
son of John and Catherine Leix, (sponsors, John Getzel- 
man, and Elizabeth Stadelman). In Sep., 1767, there were 
43 communicants in this congregation, which suggests that 
Merion was receiving a fair share of the German emi- 
grants at that time. Among the surnames of these Ger- 
mans in Merion, besides those mentioned above, were 
Sorg. Schlerman, Prinz, Fimbel, Hoffman, Horn, Negler, 
Heller, Graner, Wagner, Keller, Hass, Heidle, Seibert, 
Mowrer, &c. Some of these names may still be heard in 
Merion but like the Welsh, the Germans lost their identity 
in the greater English population in this section. 

The church of the Merion Baptist congregation, at the 
intersection of the Gulf Road and Roberts's Road, on the 
Harrison-Morris-Vaux land, was not built till in 1800. De- 
scendants of early Welsh Friends, and of the Gaskills, 
descendants of William Penn, have been buried in the grave- 
yard of this church. But a much older Baptist congrega- 
tion, all Welsh, built a church in Montgomery tp., before 
1720, and of its members were John Evans, William, 

[486] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNO 

Thomas, and Josiah James, James Lewis, Edward Williams, 
and James Davis. And an older one than this was the 
Baptist congregation of Welsh in the English settlement of 
Plymouth, members of which, before 1703, were David 
Meredith, Thomas Owen, Isaac Price, Ellis Pugh, and Hugh 
Jones. A Welsh minister, Malachi Jones, gathered the first 
congregation of Welsh Presbyterians, at Abington, among 
the Quakers, in 1714. In all of these churches the sermon 
and hymns were in the Welsh tongue till the time of the 
Revolutionary War, and, at only a short time before this, the 
population of what is now Montgomery Co., was nearly one- 
half Welsh and "half Welsh." Or, according to assessors' 
returns in eight townships of this district, made in 1734, 
there were 155 distinctively Welsh surnames to only 37 
English. 

Nothing of particular interest has come down to us about 
the early schools of the Welsh Tract. Mr. Isaac Sharpless, 
in his little book, "The Quaker Boy," only refers to them 
in a general way. That there were Friends' schools in 
early days, there is no question, as the extant meeting min- 
utes are generally nicely written, and well expressed, and 
that they had sessions in their old meeting houses, for some 
of these have preserved some of the old school desks, and 
then there are entries in meeting records of the burials of 
teachers. At Merion Meeting, "Buried, James Marks, 
schoolmaster, 7mo. 15. 1742," and "Garret Hodnut, school- 
master at Blockley, 8mo. 16. 1753." Elsewhere is noted 
the school house, built back of the Merion meeting house, 
about 1765, on a lot on the S. E. corner of Rees's land, and 
corner of Lancaster road and Meeting House Lane, (indi- 
cated on Levering's map of Merion, in 1851), which this 
meeting bought from Rees, in 1765. Down the Rock Hol- 
low road, and near the Meeting House Lane, Jacob Jones, 
a Welshman by descent, founded in 1812, the Lower Mer- 
ion Academy. It was a pay and free school, for boys and 

[487] 



s- 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

girls, boarders and day scholars. Many prominent Marion 
men and women began their education at this academy, 
which gave name to the hamlet here, Academyville. 

The general lines of the great tract of land bought by the 
Welsh Friends for themselves, have already been given. 
It included eleven and a half of the present contiguous 
Pensylvania townships, in the counties of Montgomery, 
Delaware and Chester, these being Lower and Upper Mer- 
ion, Haverford, Radnor, Tredyffrin, East and West White- 
land, Willistown, East and West Goshen, East Town, and 
a part of West Town. The north and west lines of White- 
land township, are the old Welsh Tract lines. The Welsh 
Tract's north line separated Tredyffrin tp. and Whiteland 
tp. from Schuylkill, Charlestown, and Uwchlan townships, 
and the west line of the Welsh Tract separates West White- 
land, West Goshen, and the borough of Westchester from 
East Cain and East Bradford townships. Its northwest cor- 
ner being the northwest corner of West Whiteland town- 
ship. 

The first three original townships, Merion (Lower) , Hav- 
erford,* and Radnor, have been treated of, and of the others 
there are the following items concerning their Welsh set- 
tlers. Of this celebrated tract of land, geologists who have 
been investigating its structure for years, but have not 
come to a verdict. One set of gentlemen holding that the 
Welsh Tract may once have been on the side of a moun- 
tain 25,000 feet high, and the other, it may have been the 
bottom of the ocean, a thousand feet below the waves, and 
in support of this guess, they show the "Bryn Mawr 
gravel," which is the regular sea gravel, bedded 400 feet 



*Haverford tp. taxables in 1715 :— Richard Hayes, Henry Lewis, 
Samuel Lewis, John Havard, Daniel Humphrey, David Llewellyn, 
Rowland Powell, Henry Lawrence, Thomas Lawrence, Humphrey 
Ellis, Samuel Reese, Martha Hughs, Gaynor Musgrove, Hugh David, 
Robert Wharton, Lidia Ellis, Owen Thomas, John Parry, Daniel 
Lawrence, David Lewis, and Mireck Davies. Freemen, Jacob Jones, 
and Evan David. 

[488] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

above present tide water. But they concur that after the 
Welsh Tract was dry land, a great glacier coming from the 
northward scraped the Welsh Tract level, and left the huge 
limestone blocks, brought miles and miles from their natal 
bed and left them near the Chester Valley and in Blockley 
tp., about Race and 66th streets, Philadelphia. 

When we go into Upper Merion, we are on ground made 
sacred by memories of the American Revolution, as many 
of the military events previous to the army's occupation of 
nearby Valley Forge farms, in 1777-78, happened within 
its bounds, though not all occurred in what had been a part 
of the great Welsh Tract. Swedes' Ford, Flat Land Ford, 
Matson's Ford and other Schuylkill river crossings of that 
period, are still landmarks of those strenuous times, when 
Washington and Howe marched up and down, crossed and 
recrossed the river, trying to get the advantage of each 
other, as also are North Valley Hill, Red Hill, Gulf Hill, (or 
Conshohocking Hill as it was known to the earliest Welsh 
settlers), Gulf Creek, Gulf Road, and the "old Gulph Mill," 
built in 1747, near which, in an unidentified farm house, 
Washington had its headquarters, his army being encamped 
here a week, 13-19 Dec, before taking possession of Valley 
Forge.* 

Upper Merion's population never approached that of 
Lower Merion, and in 1741, had only 52 taxables, but in 
1857, it had as many post offices, and they were located at 
Port Kennedy, King of Prussia, and Gulf Mills. At that 
time, the only public library, besides the Friends' inter- 
meeting one, in the two townships, was a little affair at the 
King of Prussia, conducted by Mr. C. J. Elliott, at the inter- 
section of the Gulf and State roads, and three other roads, 
and near the tavern where the township elections were 
held. 

In 1734, under the direction of Thomas Penn, when or- 
ganizing the Land Office, a list of the landowners in Upper 



*See "Camp by the old Gulph Mill," Pa. Mag. of His. XVII, p. 414. 

[489] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Merion was taken, and in it were named the following 
Welsh, some of whom were of the families of the earliest 
settlers of Lower Merion, who had bought land there, and 
removed : 

Hugh Hughes, Morris Edwards, Owen Thomas, Griffith 
/Philips, Owen Jones, Thomas Junkin, John David, Hugh 
Williams, Benjamin Davis, Isaac Rees, Richard Bevan,* 
David Jones, William Rees, Edward Roberts, f Matthew 
Roberts, Thomas Rees, Harry Griffith, Hannah Jones, 
Griffith Rees, David Lewis, John Rees. The other land- 
owners were Swedes, possibly excepting William George, 
and John Moor. 

Although the Abraham family is not in this list of Upper 
Merion landowners, yet there is evidence that a Sarah 
Abraham, widow, came from Wales, with her three sons, 
James, Enoch, and Noah Abraham, and that she bought 
land from the Letitia Fenn estate, in Upper Merion, about 
1730, and settled there. The sons married, but Enoch had 
no issue. James married Margaret Davis, and had a num- 
ber of children, one of vWiom, Isaac Abraham, born 28. 
4mo. 1717, married Dinah Havard, and from them there 
are many descendants living in what was the "Welsh 
Barony." 

Whiteland township (East and West Whiteland tps. after 
1704), was also originally a part of the Welsh Tract, and 
in 1704 David Jones was its constable. The extant tax list 
of 1715, shows the following Welsh were then among its 
landowners, James Thomas, Richard Thomas, Thomas 
James, Owen Thomas, Thomas Owen, Llewellyn Parry, 
David Howell, Rees Hughs, Rees Prichard, James Rowland, 
Griffith Philips, Evan Lewis, David Meredith, and John 



*He lived near Gulf Mills, and in 1751, advertised in the Perm. 
Gazette, July 24th, as having for sale, "a. likely negro man, about 
30 years of age, fit for town, or country business," and also a negro 
girl, aged 15 years. In 1790, there were 114 negro slaves in Mont- 
gomery Co., but in 1830, only one. 

tHe was the 'Squire, 1726-41. 

[490] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

Martin. Early township officers were James Thomas, 
Lewis William, David Meredith, Sr., Evan Lewis, Rees 
Richard, Thomas Owen, James Rowland, James David, 
Thomas James and Griffith Howell. A petition from this 
township in 1731, addressed to Richard Hayes, president 
justice of the Chester Co. Court, shows that there were still 
many Welshmen in it. 

Willistown township landowners in 1715, according to 
the tax list, were all English people, although this "town" 
was a part of the Welsh Tract, which was to have been 
entirely for Welshmen. Thomas Garret was the constable 
in 1704. 

East Town township, another section of the Welsh Tract, 
had for its constable in 1704, William Thomas, and the 
1715 tax list shows names of Welsh landowners, Edward 
Hugh, Ellis Hughes, Hugh Jones, Morgan Hugh, Philip 
David, David Davis, John Harris, John David, Evan 
Thomas, Owen Hugh, Richard Evans, and Thomas Ed- 
wards, and non-residents, John Pugh, and Owen Humphrey, 
and William Sharlow. 

West Town township had earlier organization than the 
other distant "towns," but only a portion of it was within 
the Welsh Tract bounds. Its settlers were all English. 
Daniel Hoopes was its constable, in 1700, and possibly 
earlier. 

Tredyffrin township, in Chester county, was also a por- 
tion of the original Welsh Tract. The Welsh knew this 
"town" as Tre yr Dyffryn, (the town in the wide valley, 
that is the great and beautiful Chester Valley) , according 
to the extant tax list of 1722. The English knew it as Vel- 
leyton, in 1708. This township was organized about 1707, 
when it appears that Thomas David, a Welshman, was the 
constable. Among the landowners in the Great Valley, 
in 1722, were James Abraham, Morris David, Hugh David, 
James David, Sr., John David, Henry David, Thomas David, 
James Davies, William Davies, Timothy Davies, Stephen 
Evans, Lewis Evans, William Evans, John Howell, Griffith 

[491] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Jones, Sr. and Jr., Thomas Jermon, Thomas James, Jenkin 
Lewis, James Parry, John Robert, Thomas Martin, Thomas 
Godfrey, Samuel Richard, John Richard, all Welshmen, and 
Daniel and Lewis Walker, Thomas Hubbert, Mark Hub- 
bert, &c. It seems that in early days, the landowners, resi- 
dents of a "town," took turns in being the constable. In 
this township there served this office, 1707-1753, Thomas 
David, Griffith John, Rowland Richard, John David, Owen 
Gethen, Stephen Evans, John Roberts. 

The earliest road supervisors were also Welshmen, among 
them, David John, Thomas James, John David, Thomas 
Martin, Stephen Evans, &c. The extant tax list for 1715 
for this township shows that the following Welsh were land 
owners in it : Thomas Jarman, Sr. and Jr., Stephen Evans, 
Rowland Richard, Griffith John, John Roberts, James David, 
Margaret Walters, John David, John David Howell, Thomas 
Rees, Owen Gethen, John David Griffith, Llewellyn David, 
James Parry, Henry John, David Evan, Thomas David, 
Thomas Martin, Thomas Godfrey, and Thomas Hubbert, 
and Lewis Walker. The non-resident holders were Capt. 
Nordant, Benjamin Davies, Mordecai Moore, and William 
Evans. 

Over the roads of this township portions of the contend- 
ing armies of the Revolution maneuvered for positions, and 
it was while Gen. Howe's division was in this township, he 
sent Gen. Grey in the night to surprise and attack Gen. 
Wayne, near Paoli Inn, when Wayne was surprised and 150 
of his soldiers were killed and wounded, and 80 taken pris- 
oners, and his cannon and baggage carried off by the 
British. 

Goshen township, (divided in 1817 into East and West 
Goshen township), though originally a portion of the great 
Welsh Tract, and where nearly all of the early Welsh 
Friends had to accept as the location of half of their pur- 
chase from Penn, was too far away to become settled till 
nearly twenty years after the first coming of the Welsh, 
and, for some reason, but few of them settled there. The 

[492] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

township is presumed to have been organized about 1704, 
as this is the time when it had its first constable, Cad- 
walader Ellis, a Welshman. The oldest extant tax list is of 
1715, and there are few Welshmen mentioned, namely Ellis 
David, Cadwalader Ellis, Ellis William, Thomas Evans, and 
the following non-resident landowners, Dr. Edward Jones, 
Dr. Griffith Owen, Thomas Jones and Robert Jones. Gov. 
Lloyd owned considerable land in the southwest part of the 
township. His executors, in 1706, sold 797 and 850 acres 
here. In 1702, they had sold 965 acres to John Haines, a 
resident of West Jersey, and the city of Westchester stands, 
made a borough in 1788, on part of this tract, and on a part 
of a 1,100 tract owned by Richard Thomas, of Whitland. 
His land lay east of High street, and Lloyd's south of Gay 
street. East of Richard Thomas's land was 346 acres owned 
by Evan Jones, and 350 acres owned by Ellis David. Next 
was a tract of 635 acres owned by John ap Thomas's sons, 
Thomas Jones, &c. The first Welshman to settle in Goshen 
is supposed to have been Robert Williams. An extant peti- 
tion, dated 1731, shows only the following apparently 
Welshmen out of thirty-two signers, Thomas Evans, David 
Davies, Ellis Williams, Richard Jones, and Thomas Price. 
On the extant tax list of 1753, only the Welsh names of 
David Davis, Thomas Evans, and Amos Davis are among 
the taxables, and in the 1774 list, not so many. 



[493] 







THOMAS AND JONES TRACT IN 1850 



FRIENDS MEETINGS 

OF THE 

WELSH TRACT 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

The Welsh Friends being of course pious, and in full 
appreciation of the liberty their new home gave them to 
meet for worship without molestation, joined together for 
thanks and communion as soon as they became in a manner 
settled. These first meetings upon their land at the Falls 
of the Schuylkill, were beneath the great trees of the pri- 
meval forest about them, in pleasant weather, and, other- 
wise, at the primitive home of a family in their settle- 
ment, be it then a cave, tent, or a lean-to shelter, and sub- 
sequently in the dwelling houses they immediately erected. 

This was the experience in each Welsh township — 
Merion and Haverford, and subsequently in Radnor, Gos- 
hen, and the others — where the little settlements were far 
apart, for several years, till the inhabitants increased in 
such number, that central, convenient public houses for 
worship were required. 

At this period, these two contiguous settlements of the 
Welsh Friends, in Merion and Haverford, with a third 
one, mostly of English people, in the Western city liber- 
ties, adjoining the great Welsh Tract, held their meetings 
independently, not yet being large enough to effect the or- 
ganization peculiar to the Society. 

In Philadelphia, where there was soon a large popula- 
tion of Friends, and there being several small peculiar, 
particular, or preparative meetings, then amenable and 
subordinate to the Burlington monthly meeting, the neces- 
sity for the proper local organization was sooner experi- 
enced and accomplished. The first conference of resident 
"city Friends" for this purpose was held on 9. llmo. (Jan.) 
1682-3, when it was ordered that those present, and other 
Friends in town, bring their certificates of membership 

[497] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

and removal, vouching their good standing, issued to them 
by the meetings of which they had been members in the 
old country, and submit them for examination and record, 
at the business meeting to be held on 6. 12mo. following. 
This was accordingly done by a great number, and on 
6. Imo. (March) 1682-3, the distinctive Philadelphia 
monthly and quarterly meetings were regularly instituted. 

As the initial meetings in Merion and Haverford were 
composed of those who had been friends and neighbors 
in the old country, and belonged to the same monthly meet- 
ing, there was no occasion, till long afterwards, for a call 
for certificates as to the standing of anyone, hence, there 
are few recorded early in the books of the Haverford (Rad- 
nor) monthly meeting, unlike that of Philadelphia, which 
was in a great measure a congregation of strangers. 

The following are some of the earliest Welsh Tract 
settlers who brought certificates from meetings in Wales 
and England to the Haverford (Radnor) monthly meeting: 
Evan Jones; Mary Elis, widow; Rowland Ellis; Treharn 
David; Evan ap William Powell; David Powell and wife 
Gainor; Philip Evan; Elizabeth Owen; Rebecca Humph- 
rey ; Alice v. James Lewis ; Thomas Duckett and wife, and 
his sister Mary; Hugh Roberts; Cadwallader Morgan;^ 
Hugh John Thomas; John Robert of Llun; Robert David; 
Katherine Robert; Gaynor Robert; John Jarman; David 
Meredith; Stephen Evans; David Janies, Rees Petter; 
John Humphrey; Richard Humphrey; Elizabeth Humph- 
rey, widow; Joshua Owen; Margaret John, widow; John 
Rhydderch; Thomas Jones; Thomas Ellis; John Bevan; 
Ralph Lewis; John Richard; Rees John; Griffith Owen; 
Sarah Heame; Howell James; Owen Morgan; Mary Tyd- 
dur; Matthew Holgate; Ellis Pugh; Robert Tuddur; Robert 
Ellis; Jane Griffith; Anne Jones; Griffith John, widower; 
Robert Owen and wife Rebecca; David Price's children; 
Maud Richard ; John Rice, &c. 

It is of interest that certificates of the following Welsh 
Friends were among the earliest filed in the Philadelphia 

[498] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

monthly meeting: Henry Lewis, Lewis David, and William 
Howel, from the Redstone meeting, in Pembrokeshire, 
dated 6. 6mo. 1682. They became of the founders of the 
preparative meeting of Haverford. Samuel and James 
Miles, from Montgomery-Uainhangel meeting, in Radnor- 
shire, dated 27. 5mo. 1683, who settled in Haverford. 
Thomas Ellis from the quarterly meeting, at Dolyserre, in 
Merionethshire, dated 27. 5mo. 1683, a large Welsh Tract 
landowner. Evan Morris, and his wife Gainor, from the 
quarterly meeting at Tyddyn y Garreg, Merionethshire, 
dated 8. 5mo. 1690. They settled at Gwynedd. Evan Powel, 
a weaver, and his wife Gwen, from Nantmell, Radnorshire, 
dated 20. 3mo. 1698. Thomas Powell and Edward Moore, 
from Landwdaen parish, Radnorshire, dated 20. 3mo. 1698. 
Lumley Williams, from Radnor Town, dated 20. 3mo. 1698. 
These Welsh Friends, all from Radnorshire, came over with 
Penn, in the "Welcome" : Thomas Jones and Evan Oliver, 
and his wife Jean, and their children, David, Elizabeth, 
John, Hannah, Mary, Evan, and "Seaborn." 

As said, in the first year, the three small separate meet- 
ings for the Welsh Tract, and the Liberties, had no further 
organization than as independent preparative meetings. In 
Merion Town, there were, in the year 1682, only five 
families, those of Dr. Edward Jones, Robert David, Wil- 
liam Edward, Edward Rees, and John Edward; in Haver- 
ford Town, only the families of Lewis David, Henry Lewis, 
William Howell, and George Painter, and in the adjoining 
"city liberties," only those of Thomas Duckett and Barnaby 
Wilcox, while in far ofl^ Radnor Town, there were no families 
at all, (although by his map, Surveyor-General Holme 
would have it believed there were forty settlements in Rad- 
nor tp., and thirty-two in Haverford, in the following 
year). Therefore, it can be said. Friends' families across 
the Schuylkill, in 1682-3, were "few and far between." 

In June, five months after the Philadelphia Friends' 
families were numerous enough to separate themselves from 
the Burlington monthly meeting, and organize the Philadel- 

[499] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

phia monthly meeting, we learn from the minutes of the 
latter, under 5. 4mo. 1683, that the English Friends living 
over the Schuylkill river, nearest the city, had a small meet- 
ing which gathered at the home of Thomas Duckett. This 
memorandum, made when the Philadelphia monthly meeting 
was considering the settling of the preparative meetings in 
Philadelphia County, says, it was "agreed that there be a 
first-day publick meeting at Philadelphia, and a first-day 
publick meeting at Skuylkill." And "agreed that every other 
first-day there be a publick meeting of friends for the wor- 
ship of the Lord at the house of Thomas Duckett, on the 
other side of Skuylkill, and that the meetings in these two 
places [Philadelphia and Duckett's house], make one 
monthly meeting." 

From this, it might be presumed that the "English 
Friends living over the Schuylkill" were numerous, (but 
they were only two families) , and that the Welsh Friends 
were not recognized by the Philadelphians. But other 
minutes clearly show that the Welsh met with these English 
at Mr. Duckett's, so it may have been only convenience to 
designate all the little meetings over the Schuylkill, as 
"Duckett's meeting," for, when the Philadelphia quarterly 
meeting was established, composed at first of the Philadel- 
phia, "Duckett's," Tackony, and Poquessin meetings, in 
Philadelphia County, it appears that Welshmen and Eng- 
lishmen represented "Duckett's meeting," or "Skuylkill 
meeting," as it was variously called. But it was not until 
the Philadelphia quarterly meeting of December, 1684, that 
the Welsh meetings were distinctively recognized, although 
they "belonged to the quarterly meeting" from the first. 

It has been presumed that after Hugh Roberts arrived 
here with his family, in Nov. 1683, accompanied by four 
families for the "Thomas & Jones tract," namely those of 
the widow Thomas, William Jones, Cadwalader Morgan, and 
Hugh Jones, and John Bevan's, and some other families, 
that settled nearby, or in Haverford, he set out to organize 
the two Welsh preparative meetings into a monthly meet- 

[500] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

ing; but this arrangement was not consented to by the 
Philadelphia quarterly meeting till the following spring, 
when, in the minutes of the Philadelphia monthly meet- 
ing, under 4. Imo. 1683-4, is the statement :— "It being 
proposed to this meeting that the friends of Wales, beyond 
Skuylkill, belonging to the Quarterly meeting, may be 
allowed to keep a weekly and a monthly meeting amongst 
themselves. The meeting agreed, thereunto." 

This was the birth of the Welsh monthly meeting, known 
for several years only as the "Skuylkill monthly meeting," 
but which was called both the Merion, and the Haverford 
monthly meeting later, and subsequently, when the prepara- 
tive meeting of Radnor was added, the union became known 
as the Radnor monthly meeting, and ever since has been 
tributary to the Philadelphia quarterly meeting, an arrange- 
ment positively decided upon in 1698, after the Welshmen's 
"boundary line troubles," when these Welsh meetings 
refused to be within the jurisdiction of the Chester monthly, 
or the quarterly meeting, although located in Chester Co., 
and in this stand they had the consent and support of the 
yearly meeting, as elsewhere stated. 

The cause of there being several names for the Welsh 
Friends' monthly meeting may be found in the early custom 
of these Friends to hold their monthly meetings alternately 
with each preparative meeting, those of Merion, Haverford, 
and Schuylkill, as the little meeting in the Liberties was 
called, the gatherings being at the dwellings of members of 
the Society, and, from the minutes of these meetings, the 
men's and the women's, it is learned that wherever a monthly 
meeting was held, it was called by the name of the "town" 
in which the dwelling used was situated. This was, of 
course, before the permanent name "Radnor" was adopted. 
As late as 26. 6mo. 1706, the Chester monthly meeting 
minutes record that the Newtown meeting had received 
"from the Merion Monthly Meeting," a general certificate, 

[501] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

recommending William Lewis, Sr. and Jr., Evan Lewis, 
Lewis Lewis, Rees Howell, William Bevan, and William 
Thomas. 

It would be natural to suppose that this new monthly 
meeting had borne pennanently the name of "Merion," 
when the designation "Schuylkill" was dropped, in honor 
of the eldest of the original meetings in the Tract; but in 
deciding upon the name, it was the unanimous wish that it 
should bear the name of "Haverford," (and for the same 
reason it subsequently was called "Radnor"), because of the 
brave opposition that meeting put up against the plot of 
the Chester people to divide the Welsh Tract, and refusing 
courteously but flatly to be in the jurisdiction of the Chester 
monthly meeting. 

The extant minutes of the monthly meetings held at the 
dwellings of Friends in the Western Liberties, Merion and 
Haverford, till in 1698, open with the minutes of the first 
four "men's meetings," and seem to be complete for these 
early years, but then comes a gap of seven years in them, 
without any known reason, and when the record is resumed, 
the monthly meeting is no longer called "Haverford" but 
"Radnor," without any suggestion why the change of name 
took place. This hiatus is provoking, as it occurs at an 
important time in the life of the Welsh colony, the period 
of its contention for autonomy. And then, too, we might 
have found reliable information concerning the date of 
building the stone meeting house for Merion, and what 
accommodations were had for meetings in Merion and 
Haverford before their houses were erected, aside from 
meeting once a month at dwellings. 

Or, more particularly, the minutes of the men's monthly 
meeting are from 10. 2mo. 1684, to 12. 6mo. 1686 ; 15. 5mo, 
1693, to 12. Brno. 1699 ; 1709 to 9. 9mo. 1704, and from 10. 
lOmo. 1712. (Originals at No. 140 N. 15th St., Philadel- 
phia.) And the minutes of the women's monthly meeting 
are 12. Imo. 1684-5, to 1740, and from 1746. (Original at 
No. 142 N. 16th St., Philadelphia) . Minutes of the men's 

[502] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

meeting Merion, 1701-2, 12mo. 6 to 6. 5mo. 1705, and of 
women's meeting, Merion, 1702-1705, both at No. 140 N. 
15th St. Philadelphia. Records of Radnor monthly meet- 
ing from 23. 8rao. 1682 (births, marriages, deaths, certifi- 
cates, &c), originals at No. 142 N. 16th st. Philadelphia. 

The first entry in the records of the "Haverford monthly 
meeting," of the Welsh Friends, in its "old limp-leather 
book," is under "2d month, 10th., 1683-4," telling that at the 
men's meeting, held at Thomas Duckett's house, "two 
couples passed." These were Thomas Stampford and 
Joane Hooding, and Humphrey Ellis and Gwen Rees, who 
"declared their intentions of marriage with each other." 
Each monthly meeting of these Friends appointed a place 
for the holding of the next meeting, of course, always at 
some neighbor's dwelling. "Weekday meetings" were also 
held at Mr. Duckett's on each "third day," and "at Haver- 
ford" on 4th days, and "at Merion" on 6th days. 

It is not till long after minutes began to be kept that it 
may be known from them who acted as clerk, overseers, and 
trustees of the "Welsh monthly meeting." On 13. 4mo. 
1695, the clerks of meetings were, John Jarman, (Rad- 
nor), William Howell, (Haverford), and Robert Owen, 
(Merion). In 5mo. 1698, the monthly meeting overseers 
were John Roberts and Edward Rees, and in 7mo. 1694, 
Robert Ov/en and Edward Jones. John Bevan, Rowland 
Ellis, William Howell, David Lawrence, Humphrey Ellis, 
Richard Orms, and Edward Jones, were the "peace mak- 
ers" of the early years. 

The first delegates appointed to attend the quarterly 
meeting, held in Philadelphia, between 13. 9mo. and 11. 
lOmo., 1684, were Griffith Owen and Mary Jones, for Mer- 
ion; John Bevan and Margaret Lewis, for Haverford, and 
"widow ffinger," for Schuylkill. On 11. lOmo. 1684, the 
Welsh Friends ordered Evan Harry to make a copy of all 
the papers brought from this quarterly meeting, for the 
use of the Haverford Monthly meeting. 

[503] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

The "little unpleasantness" between the Welsh Friends 
and the Chester monthly and quarterly meetings, which has 
been several times mentioned herein, and about which much 
has elsewhere been printed, may be seen in detail in the 
minutes of the Radnor monthly meeting, in 6mo. 1698. 
That the Chester Friends were exceedingly jealous of the 
supposed rights of their monthly meeting within Chester 
county, may also be seen in many instances in its records. 
As, for instance, when the little preparative meeting of 
Newtown was started, or, when (in llmo. 1696), "William 
Lewis and some others, proposed to settle a meeting at 
Newtown meeting," the Haverford monthly meeting, on 
11. 14. 1696, considered and consented to there being such 
a meeting for Newtown, and, as is customary, so formally 
notified the Chester quarterly meeting, which became very 
indignant upon the receipt of this communication, and took 
the matter of the so called presumption of the Haverford 
body before the yearly meeting at Philadelphia. The 
Friends in yearly meeting, after sober debate and subse- 
quent investigation, compromised and settled this dispute, 
by ordering, in 12mo. 1701, the Newtown preparative meet- 
ing, in Chester county, "to remain as it is," and that "for 
the future, ye said Welsh friends may set up no meetings 
further within the sd county of Chester, without ye appro- 
bation of the Chester quarterly meeting." This certainly 
was a victory for the Welshmen. The Newtown meeting 
continued a part of the Haverford, or Radnor monthly 
meeting for several years, but in 1705, consented to trans- 
fer its allegiance to the Chester monthly meeting. In 1700, 
the Chester quarterly meeting was still concerned about the 
preparative meetings of the Welsh Friends living in Chester 
Co., "which appear not at this meeting, but go to Phil- 
adelphia quarterly meeting." But it does not appear that 
the Chester Friends interfered with the jurisdiction of the 
Welsh Friends over those in the Chester Valley, as in llmo. 
1698, "Friends in upper end of Merion, complain they live 
too far from the settled weekly meeting. Ask to have 

[504] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

weekly meeting among themselves. Approved," by Hav- 
erford monthly meeting. This was the beginning, it may 
be presumed, of the Valley Meeting, but it was not till many 
years after when these Friends had a meeting house, as a 
minute in 12mo. 1730, says, "arranged to erect a meeting 
house for Valley friends" and in 1 mo. 1730-1, "decided 
to build a meeting house at the graveyard of Lewis Walker, 
deceased, v/hich was left by him for this purpose." The fol- 
lowing entry in Haverford, Mo. Mtg. records, as to summer 
arrangements, which is not without interest, 1701, 2mo. 
(April), "the dais now growing long, ffriends made known 
their intention to keep afternoon meetings." The Newtown 
Friends to meet at Lewis Lewis's; the Haverford Friends 
at their meeting house; the Radnor Friends at their meet- 
ing house, and at Rees Thomas's and Ellis Pugh's ; the Mer- 
ion Friends at their meeting house, and at John Bevan's 
and Cadwalader Morgan's, and the Gwynedd Friends at 
Hugh Griffith's. 

The ship "Vine," arriving on 17. 7mo. 1684, bringing 
many Welsh families to settle in Merion, Haverford, and 
Radnor, increased the population of the Welsh Tract so that 
it was almost immediately necessary to erect appropriate 
houses for public worship, therefore, probably, two log 
houses were put up at first, one in Merion, and the other in 
Haverford, (though there is evidence that the Friends in 
this township continued to meet for some time at the home 
of John Bevan), in localities most convenient to the major- 
ity of the settlers' families, and most accessible by the 
bridle paths, or trails, through the woods, for as yet there 
were no roads, nor need of them; but the Schuylkill meet- 
ing continued to be held at the house of Thomas Duckett 
in the "liberty lands," near the river, (on Market Street) . 
But there seems to have been no occasion for a meeting 
house in Radnor before 1717. 

The increase of inhabitants in the Welsh Tract also 
-called for proper, and central places for burials, and to this 
end the Haverford monthly meeting minutes record : — 

[505] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"Att our monthly meeting held at John Bevan's house 
at Haverford, the 9th of the 8th month, (1684), it was 
ordered as followeth: This meeting haveing taken to their 
consideration the necessity of a burying place, it was ordered 
that Thomas Ducket and Barnaby Willcox,* for Schoolkill ; 
Hugh Roberts and Robert David, for Merion; George 
Painter and William Howell, for Haverford, should view 
and set out convenient places for that purpose respectively, 
for the meetings they belong to, as aforesaid." 

This was done, following up the permission given by 
the quarterly meeting, according to its minute, 2. 7mo. 1684, 
to wit: "Agreed that the monthly meeting at Skuylkill 
shall take care for a burying place, and its Enclosure." 
At this meeting, "Skuylkill friends being called, there 
appeared Thomas Duckett and Barnaby Wilcocks" only, 
and the Welsh were not represented. At the next monthly 



*Both of these men served on the grand jury, 27 12mo. 1683-4. 
Mr. Willcox, who was a justice in 1687-9, and assemblyman, 1685, 
had been a member of the Bristol monthly meeting, in England, 
where the births of some of his children are recorded, namely, 
"George, 1667, 6. 22, son of Barnebe and Sarah Wilkox"; Joseph, 
1669, 4. 19; "Hester, 1673, 6 30, daughter of Barnabus and Sarah 
Wilkcox"; "Abigael, 1679, 7. 28, daughter of Barnabas and Sarah 
Willcox." The will of Sarah Willcox, widow and administrator of 
Barnabas, dated 4th mo. 20, 1692, was proved at Philadelphia, 9mo. 
30. It is not known when and where they married. It was the above 
Joseph Willcox (mayor of Philadelphia, in 1705), when an alderman 
of the city, who in the "historical fray," or "drunken brawl," as the 
occasion is described (see minutes of the Provincial Council), between 
the Founder's son, William Penn, Jr., and companions, and the "city 
watch," in Sept. 1704, at a tavern in Philadelphia, came to the rescue 
of the watchmen, and "fell upon young Penn, and gave him a severe 
beating." 

Mr. Duckett was a maltster, and brought his certificate, dated 4. 
4mo. 1683, from the "Monthly Meeting for the East Part of the 
County of Wilts," where the first men's meeting, or monthly meeting 
of record, was held 10. 2mo. 1684. His will, signed 20. 3mo. 16P9, 
was proved by his widow, Ruth, 24 June, 1700. 

[506] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

meeting of Welsh and English Friends, held in 9mo. 1684, 
reports were made that the burying places had been selected 
and laid out respectively for Merion and Haverford. 

These minutes do not mention a gravej^ard for the use 
of Duckett's meeting, or "the Skuylkill meeting." But in 
the minutes of the Philadelphia quarterly meeting, 2. Imo. 
1684-5, inform that "the meeting appoints Barnaby Wil- 
cocks and Thomas Duckett to apply to the Governor's com- 
missioners for a grant of two acres of Land for a burying 
place on the other side of Skuylkill." This land was 
granted, and became the graveyard, near Duckett's house, 
and along the south side of the "settled road," about where 
Market and 32d streets now intersect, and is part of the 
Pensylvania Railroad property. It was used as a general 
burying place for Friends, after the Duckett meeting was 
abandoned, or about 1688-9, and was known as the "Lower 
Burying Ground," and "Haverford Friends' Ground." In 
1809 there was a committee of the Pensylvania Legislature 
appointed to pass on the validity of Friends' title to this 
land, and it was reported that the graveyard had been used 
up to that time for 120 years, and their title good. But the 
Pensylvania Railroad effected some arrangement, and 
took the ground in 1850 for tracks, and the bodies were 
removed. 

It might seem more natural that the ground selected for 
the burials should be at the meeting houses, than that these 
buildings should be subsequently erected near the grave- 
yards, hence it could be presumed there was at first at 
least a log meeting house in Merion, if not in Haverford. 
But as to the latter, there is the contemporary statement, 
"we have our burying place where we intend our meeting 
house." The Philadelphia monthly meeting, which first 
took into consideration the erection of a permanent house 
for its meetings on 9. llmo. 1682, did not take up the mat- 
ter of a graveyard for itself till 4. 7mo. 1683. It is notable 
that the Welsh Friends, Thomas Wynne and Lydia Grif- 

[507] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

fith Jones were appointed to the building committee, and 
that Dr. Wynne and Henry Lewis served on the Philadel- 
phia graveyard committee. 

In later years, when there was much uncertainty about 
the quality of Penn's deeds for land, and in fact about the 
tenure of land generally in the Province, the leading 
Friends, of all nationalities, influenced the Pensylvania 
assembly, in Jan. 1706-7, to request of the provincial 
councillors that the titles to land of meeting houses and 
graveyards be confirmed, but for some reason the council 
did not grant this request for several years. 

From the records of the Haverford (Radnor) monthly 
meeting, it appears that the English families of Warner, 
Kiete, Willcox, Saunders, Griffith, Duckett, Gardner, Clay- 
ton, and Hearne, were members, in 1684-5, of the Schuylkill 
preparative meeting, and that their children's births were 
recorded as of this meeting up to 6mo. 19, 1685. While 
the general records did not begin so early, the entry of the 
first birth is 8mo. 29, 1680. In these years, the "Burials 
att Skoolkill Buring Place West Side," were only five, 
namely, 

1683. 7mo. 8. Janne Duckett, widdow. 

1684. 7mo. 10. Mary Duckett, Daughter of Thomas 
and Mary. 

1685. 6mo. 11. Mary Duckett, Wife of Thomas, 
1685. 9mo. 27. John Rhydderch. 

1685-6. Imo. 3. Mary Keite Wife of Thomas. 

After 2. 7mo. 1684, the Welsh Friends' meetings, their 
monthly meeting, were regularly represented at the Phila- 
delphia quarterly meetings, sometimes under the designation 
"Friends for the Welsh friends, and Skuylkill," or as "the 
Skuylkill Meeting," "Friends for the other side of Skuyl- 
kill," "Friends appearing for Skuylkill monthly meeting," 
"Friends from the monthly meeting on the other side Skuyl- 
kill," and "Skuylkill Meetings," and it was not until after 
1688-9, that the designation Haverford monthly meeting 
was used in Philadelphia quarterly meetings. 

[508] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

The delegates from "over the Skuylkill Meeting" to the 
quarterly meetings were the prominent men of the meetings. 
For instance, in lOmo. 1684, Thomas Ellis, Griffith Owen, 
Thomas Duckett, Henry Lewis, Barnabas Wilcocks, and 
John Bevan; in 4mo. 1685, Barnabas Wilcocks, George 
Painter, and William Howell. At this session, Duckett and 
Wilcocks were placed on the committee to oversee the build- 
ing of the new meeting house, in Center Square, Philadel- 
phia, to be "50 by 35 feet, and 14 feet to roof." In 7mo. 
1685, Thomas Duckett, John Bevan, John Humphreys, Ed- 
ward Jones, and George Painter, "for the other side of 
Skuylkill, appeared for the service of the yearly meeting." 
In Imo. 1685-6, Griffith Owen, George Painter, John Bevan, 
Edward Jones, Thomas Duckett, and Paul Saunders. In 
4mo. 1686, John Bevan, George Painter, Hugh Roberts, 
Edward Jones, Thomas Duckett, and John Warner. In 
lOmo. 1686, Paul Saunders, George Painter, John Jermin, 
John Warner, Richard Orme. The latter was appointed 
official grave digger in Philadelphia at two shillings a 
grave, "if not a big one," by the Philadelphia monthly meet- 
ing, 12. 7mo. 1685. After his marriage in this meeting, in 
12mo. 1685, to "Mary Tedder, of Harford," Mr. Orme 
resigned, and Thomas Howell was appointed, 17. 4mo. 1686. 

At the quarterly meeting, 7. Imo. 1686-7, "appeared for 
the other side of Skuylkill," John Bevan, William Howell, 
John Roberts, John Evans, and David Meredith. At the 
next quarterly meeting, Griffith Owen, Hugh Roberts, John 
Warner, Henry Lewis, David Lawrence, Richard Orme 
and John Jermin were the representatives. At the next 
quarterly meeting, held, 3. 7mo. 1687, as before, at "the 
meeting house on the front of the Delaware," William 
Howell, Edward Jones, John Roberts, John Bevan, and 
David Meredith, represented "the Welsh meetings," when 
the "Harford meeting" contributed £5 toward a fund to 
give assistance to a Friend whose home was destroyed by 
fire, and "Merioneth Meeting," gave £6.7.0 for same object, 
but Radnor could only promise 32s. 6d. Griffith Owen, 

[509] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Hugh Roberts, John Evans, David Meredith, William Jenk- 
ins, and William Howell, attended the next Quarterly. Mr. 
Duckett as usual representing his meeting. The minutes of 
the next quarterly meeting, 5. Imo. 1687-8, "Friends 
appeared, to attend the meeting: — from Harford, John 
Bevan, and David Lawrence; from Radnor, Richard Orme, 
and Reese Peters; from Merrioneth, Edward Jones, and 
John Roberts; from Skuylkill meeting; Paul Saunders." At 
the next Quarterly, "William Jenkins, and William Howell, 
from Harford ; David Meredith and John Evans from Rad- 
nor ;" but "Merryoneth" was not represented. At the quar- 
terly meeting, 2. 6mo. 1688, the German Friends, of the 
Germantown Friends' meeting, had their first delega- 
tion ; but none of the Welsh Friends attended this meeting. 

The second men's meeting, or monthly meeting, of the 
Merion and Haverford Welsh Friends, was held at the home 
of William Shaner, in Radnor, "on the second fifth day of 
the third month," 1684, when the Radnor preparative meet- 
ing was authorized. 

The third men's, or monthly meeting of record was held 
at the house of Hugh Roberts, in Merion, "on the second 
fifth day of the fourth month," 1684, and the next one, in 
5th mo. at the home of John Bevan, in Haverford. 

In the earliest years, in fact for twenty-five years, the 
Welsh "men's meeting," or the monthly meeting for busi- 
ness, was transitional. A minute says, "At our monthly 
meeting held at Haverford, 22d of 2d month (1698), it is 
considered that the monthly meeting for business be kept 
in course here, at Merion, and Radnor." This changing 
of the place of assembly was the cause of the Welsh 
monthly meeting being variously named, as before sug- 
gested, since the name of the place it was held at was given 
to that particular men's meeting, hence we find the "Mer- 
ion Monthly Meeting," the "Haverford Monthly Meeting." 

The Welsh Friends of course had monthly meetings for 
worship, and what they called "First Day Monthly Meet- 
ings," and "General Monthly Meetings." It may be that 

[510] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

some of these Welsh people could not understand English, 
and there is a suggestion that Rowland Ellis acted as inter- 
preter sometimes in meetings; but as a whole they were 
probably an English speaking people, for all their surviving 
documents are written in English, and well done, both as 
to writing and expression. Yet, in one of their petitions 
they said it was their desire "Not to entangle ourselves 
with lav/s in an unknown tongue." — Penn's laws in English. 

There is evidence that the monthly meeting of the Welsh 
tract exercised the same authority over its members, as did 
the Englishmen's monthly meetings elsewhere, and not only 
had it care of the piety of the Welsh Friends within its jur- 
isdiction, and of ecclesiastical matters, having particular 
care to find if there were "any loose livers," or "disorderly 
walkers" among them, but also, as was Friends' custom of 
old, endeavored to adjust or settle disputes between neigh- 
bors, who were members of a Welsh pi'eparative meeting, 
to prevent them going into the county court with their 
trouble, for Friends have always had a "testimony against" 
law courts. The men's meeting of the Welsh Friends main- 
tained committees, or tribunals, to consider personal dif- 
ferences, after the matter between them had been attempted 
to be adjusted by reference to disinterested parties, mem- 
bers of the meeting ; this method failing, the difference was 
laid before the men's meeting, which endeavored to reason 
with the disputants, and settle the misunderstanding. What- 
ever the decision of the meeting was, the two Friends must 
abide by; but should one of them refuse the arbitrament, 
the only thing left for the "unruly one" to do was to with- 
draw from the Society, or for the monthly meeting to "dis- 
own" him. Of course, if one of the disputants was a non- 
Quaker, and spurned the decision, the meeting could go no 
further in the case, and it generally found its way into 
court. But the "Quaker method" was more often accept- 
able, since lawyer's and court fees were avoided. 

The Welsh monthly meeting also had cognizance of mem- 
bers "going backward in their outward concerns." It 

[511] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

insisted that business engagements must be kept, and debts 
paid, and the way of the defaulter was hard indeed, if he 
was a Welsh Friend. The Welsh "men's meeting" also 
made it its business to watch the reckless, and if anyone 
was discovered "venturing too much in the judgment of the 
elders," be it buying too much land, or what not, he was 
warned in a friendly spirit, and steered out of the danger 
of bankruptcy. Everything was done to avoid calamity to 
the Welsh Friends, especially if it was possible that it might 
bring a scandal to the meeting. These were the lessons 
they had learned in the old country, and they transferred 
these rules into the new. And this was what the Welsh 
Friends meant when they wrote the President: — "we can 
declare with an open face to God and man, that we desire 
to be by ourselves for no other end or purpose, but that we 
might live together as a civil society ; to endeavor to decide 
all controversaries and debates amongst ourselves in 
a gospel order, and not to entangle ourselves with laws in 
an unknown tongue." 

And this was the reason these Welsh Friends also sat in 
their meetings as the legislative assembly of their "bar- 
ony," and looked after its civic affairs, while nursing the 
claim they made as a State distinct from every county. 
But it cannot be proven that the Haverford men's meeting, 
as a body, ever meddled with the provincial politics, or 
made up county "tickets," or selected candidates for elec- 
tion, outside of their territory, unless it may have been in 
the case of Eckley's candidacy, mentioned elsewhere. 

The following is an example of the Acts and Orders of 
this Legislative Meeting, when taking care of the "constitu- 
ancy." "It is Ordered by the Meeting and consent of the 
Inhabitants of the Townships of Haverford & Radnor in 
pursuance of a Law in that Case made yt ye Inhabitants 
of ye sd two Townships should pay 1 shilling per hundred 
[? acres] towards ye takeing of woolves." 

Other "Acts" concerned line and division fences, stray 
cattle, and the utilities of the "State." But, when it would 

[512] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

seem necessary to have to use force in making an arrest, or 
in protecting property, the Meeting-Assembly went to the 
Provincial Council, and handed over to it such matters, as, 
for instance, to stop Indians from killing the Friends' hogs, 
mentioned elsewhere. 

The Welsh Tract "Assembly" also did police duty for 
itself, and tried to keep out undesirable inhabitants, as, for 
instance: — "Our friend John Bevan, haveing laid before 
this Meeting That divers Persons came over here, and left 
debts unpaid in those parts and places yt they came from, 
and the Creditors complaining against ye sd Persons that 
they did not receive any satisfaction from them for ye sd 
debts, the ffriends yt are appointed by this Meeting to see 
to sucli affairs, are desired to deal with them, if there be 
any such belonging to this Meeting." How they were to 
"deal" with these fugitives from obligations is not of record^ 
but the interesting part of this item is that the Assembly- 
Meeting was the first to govern through "standing commit- 
tees," which is a recognized and most important portion of 
the machinery of all of our present-day legislative bodies, 
and some others. This monthly meeting further assumed 
to itself the authority of the "General Court," with legis- 
lative and taxing power in the "Welsh Towns," and as an 
Orphans' Court, it appointed guardians for minor children, 
and if not administrators looked after testamentary pro- 
ceedings; assisted in settling estates, or apportioning of 
property, especially land, to heirs, as in the case of the 
adjustment of the estate of Thomas Ellis, 1688-1698, men- 
tioned elsewhere. 

The foHowing matter, one as much secular as canonical, 
also had the earnest attention of this monthly meeting. We 
all know, asd Butler ("Hudibras," II, 2) confirms it, 
"Quakers (that, like lanterns, bear 
Their light within them), will not swear," 

And that it is now a long established and proper cus- 
tom in our courts that anyone having conscientious scruples 
may eelect to "affirm," instead of taking a prescribed oath. 

[513] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

But it may not be generally known that the Friends of 
the Haverford monthly meeting had a considerable part in 
bringing about this concession, and that they were obliged 
to help buy it. 

In 1704, the statute of 1694-5, by which Quakers were 
not permitted to testify in any case in court, particularly 
in criminal cases, where evidence was given under oath, or 
to serve on juries, or even to hold any office of profit in the 
government, was confirmed by an act of parliament. 

It was understood that the provisions of this act extended 
to Pensylvania, and disqualified Quakers here, as well as 
elsewhere. At that time, the important offices in Pensyl- 
vania were held by Quakers, and they were in the majority 
in the assembly; but as they did not hold their positions 
from the general government of the kingdom, the act did 
not effect them, yet it did the business of the courts, as the 
supreme court of Pensylvania held the act extended to Pen- 
sylvania, therefore, criminal cases could not be tried. 
Many important ones* v/ere held-over, and even alleged 
murderers were released on bail. 

This state of affairs obtained for years, until in 1724-5, 
when the provincial council and the assembly passed what 
was known as the "Affirmation Act," enabling Quakei's to 



*One of these was that of Hugh Pugh, a millwright, and Thomas, 
a laborer, charged in Oct. term, 1715, Chester Co. Court, with the 
murder of Jonathan Hayes, of Marple tp., a justice of the peace, 
and member of the assembly. (The Welsh Friends, John Parry, 
Caleb Evans, and David Paruy, were fined by the Chester court for 
refusing to aid the constable in arresting Hugh Pugh, they having 
conscientious scruples in such matters.) This case, the first for 
homicide, was tried 17 April, 1718, before David Lloyd, chief justice, 
and associates, at Chester, and the men found guilty, and sentenced 
to be hung on 9 May following. On May 8th, they petitioned the 
Governor for a reprieve, till the King' should be heard from as to 
the legality of their conviction and sentence, claiming that seventeen 
of the grand jury, and eight of the jury which tried their case were 
Quakers, and only affirmed contrary to the statute. There is no 
proof that they were hung. 

[514] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

testify. But as this Pensylvania act had to receive the 
King's approbation before it was legal and should be in 
force, the Pensylvania Quakers started out to learn if His 
Majesty, George the First, would give it freely, if not, what 
they should do to persuade him. They were not long in 
learning that the King's approvement would have to be pur- 
chased from him personally. Thereupon, the Pensylvania 
Yearly Meeting gave notice to every monthly meeting that 
collections should be taken up v/ithin their jurisdictions 
to make up a purse for the mercenary monarch. 

The part that the Haverford monthly meeting took in 
this matter is of record in its manutes, as follows : 

1725. 13. 3mo. "This meeting refers to the consideration 
of ffrds: — getting of money to pay for negotiating ye late 
affirmation act in Great Britain." 

12. 6mo. "Lewis David, Thomas Thomas, and Edward 
V/illiam are desired to take frd's contributions in Cash to 
defray the Charge of having the Royal assent to ye affirm.a- 
tion act & make report thereof at next meeting." 

9. 7mo. "The friends appointed to receive ffrd's contribu- 
tions towards having ye Royal assent to ye Affirmation Act 
is continued, and advised to press friends to bring it in as 
soon as may be, in order to be paid to Richard Hill before 
ye yearly meeting." 

9. lOmo. "Edward William produced a Receipt signed by 
Richard Hill for £8. 18, received of him and Thomas 
Thomas, towards negotiating the affirmation act, for account 
of this meeting." 

That these first settlers, pioneers in Pensylvania, Welsh 
Friends all, Vv^ere sensible of the part they were taking in 
"building a new world, and wished to appear to posterity at 
their best, both as to their acts and themselves and families, 
may be presumed from, two of their contemporary records. 

First, in the minutes of the Haverford (Radnor) monthly 
meeting, under date of 12. llmo. 1698, a committee, consist- 
ing of John Bevan, Hugh Roberts, Rowland Ellis, and John 

[515] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Humphreys, who were among the leading men of the Welsh 
Tract, were appointed "to inspect and view over the [book 
of] minutes of this monthly meeting, since our arrival here, 
that it may be placed in order to enter upon Record for the 
service of generations to come." By entry in 9mo. 1697 
it may be learned that this monthly meeting "decidea to 
buy a book in which to enter testimonies concerning ffriends 
of this monthly meeting." This we take to mean that our 
Welsh Friends were proud of their acts and proceedings, 
and wished future generations to profit by not only their 
teachings, but their experiences. 

Secondly, in the minutes of the Merion preparative meet- 
ing, under date of 3. 9mo. 1704, "Ordered to file accounts 
of themselves. Children, servants, and families, and their 
removal to this country, their place of abode in their native 
country," &c. "to be kept in Remembrance to Generations 
to come." Members of the meeting were commanded to 
bring such accounts to the next meeting. At this sitting, it 
was also ordered to procure a book in which to enter the 
births, marriages, deaths and burials of members of the 
Merion meeting. 

That many accounts of members and their families were 
presented and copied into a book, appears on the minutes 
of this meeting, but the book into which they were entered 
as "Remembrance to Generations to come," is said to have 
been "lost" when the clerk of the Merion meeting carried off 
its record books at the "separation." But several families 
kept copies of the accounts filed, and they have been pre- 
served to the present day. These accounts, written by them- 
selves, of the antecedents of the first settlers, supplemented 
by the certificates of removal from Friends' meetings in the 
old country, and in several cases by "long drawn out" 
genealogies in the Welsh tongue, are what makes the pedi- 
grees of these early settlers so substantial. 

It appears from the minutes of the Merion meeting that 
the following members filed sketches of themselves. 1704, 
8. l©mo., Dr. Edward Jones, Rowland Ellis, and his wncle, 

[516] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

John Humphrey, "per R. Ellis"; on 5. llmo., John Roberts, 
Dr. Thomas Wynne, "per E. Jones" ; on 2. 12mo., Edward 
Rees, Rees John, "per son Richard Jones, of Llwyn-Gwrill, 
Clynin parish, Merioneth," and on 2. Imo. 1704-5, Wilham 
Howard, John Edward, "per brother William Howard," 
Evan Edward, "per brother William Howard," and Rich- 
ard Walter. 

The below data as to the birth dates of some of the 
earliest settlers in the first "Towns" of the Welsh Tract, in 
this connection is of interest. -It is from a paper which 
passed through the hands of Jesse George, and who indenti- 
fied it, on 1. 22. 1775, as having been memoranda made by 
Edward Roberts (a son of the minister, Hugh Roberts), 
when on a visit to Merionethshire, from the original records. 
Mr. George says that David George was appointed in 1750, 
by the Radnor Mo. Mtg., to record the births of children of 
members of the meeting, and that Hugh Roberts, a son of 
the aforesaid Edward Roberts, gave him this paper. In 
1758, Jesse George was appointed to record the births, and 
he copied Edward Roberts's data into the proper book, 
"which was all in the British language." It may be noticed 
that Edward did not give to some of the children the sur- 
names they afterwards used. 













{bee 


Children. 




Born. 


Parent. 


page ) . 


Elizabeth Edward, 


12. 


18. 


1671. 


John. 


91 


Sarah Edward, 


11. 


8. 


1673. 


n 


91 


Elizabeth Edward, 


3. 


14. 


1672. 


William. 


85 


Catherine Thomas, 


6. 


20. 


1673. 


John. 


122 


Hobert Roberts, 


11. 


7. 


1673. 


Hugh. 


102 


Evan Thomas, 


5. 


8. 


1675. 


John. 


120 


Ellin Roberts, 


10. 


4. 


1675. 


Hugh. 


102 


■Catherine Edward, 


11. 


29. 


1676. 


William. 


85 


Evan Edward, 


2. 


2. 


1677. 


John. 


90 


Mary Thomas, 


8. 


8. 


1677. 


John. 


120 


John Evan, 


8. 


11. 


1677. 


Robert. 


, , 


Owen Roberts, 


10. 


1. 


1677. 


Hugh. 


102 


Jane David, 


2. 


28. 


1678. 


Robert. 


83 


Martha Jones, 


3. 


10. 


1678. 


Edward. 


74 



[517] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 











( 


bee 


Children. 




Bor 


n. 


Parent, page). 


Hannah Jones, 


7. 


22. 


1678. 


William. 


105 


Cadwallader Thomas, 


11. 


4. 


1678. 


John. 


122 


Morgan Morgan, 


6. 


25. 


1679. 


Cadwallader. 


107 


Rees Eees, 


11. 


11. 


1678. 


Edward. 


80 


Catherine David, 


1. 


25. 


1680. 


Robert. 


83 


Edward Roberts, 


2. 


4. 


1680. 


Hugh. 


103 


Jonathan Jones, 


11. 


3. 


1680. 


Edward. 


75 


Catherine Rees, 


12. 


1. 


1680. 


E dward. 


81 


Edward Edward, 


8. 


5. 


1681. 


John. 


90 


William Roberts, 


3. 


26. 


1682. 


Hugh. 


103 


Edward Morgan, 
■^Sydney Thomas, 


6. 


22. 


1682. 


Cadwallader. 


107' 


6. 


14. 


1682. 


John. 


120 


Rachel Ellis, 


1. 


27. 


1675. 


Robert.* 


. , 


Abel 


1. 




1677. 


n 




Moses 


10. 


5. 


1679. 


" 




Ellis 


12. 


2. 


1681-; 


I. " 




Aaron " 


8. 




1685. 


ii 




Evan 


1. 


1. 


1687-88. " 




Jane 


4. 


24. 


1690. 


t( 





The scope of the "business" of the leaders af the Welsh 
monthly meeting seems to us to have been very wide, even 
limitless as far as the concerns and conduct of its members 
were concerned, for the ministers and elders were the guard- 
ians and monitors of the people. But, whatever may be 
said, or supposed of any other Friends' meeting, in no min- 
utes of theirs does it appear that the ruling Welsh Friends 
used their authority to the limit. It is the diversity only of 
their official employment that would be most remarkable, 
if it was not known they were controlling and regulating 
immigrants in a new country. And this was the first experi- 
ence of Quakers in living entirely under the control of the 
Meeting, for at home surroundings were different, and one 
might evade "the rules," many of which for this reason 
were "dead letter" there, but here were enforced, where 



♦"Arrived with their family in Pensylvania about the beginning of 
the lOmo. 1690. The said Robert [Ellis] died in lOmo. 1697, and his 
■wife [Ellin] within two weeks after." 



[518] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

there was nothing but "Quaker Rules." It was obey, or 
suffer, — not corporal punishment, — but just the inward 
suffering that hurts more than any bodily pain. Here, com- 
parison between the Friends and the Puritans, in like con- 
ditions, would suggest partisanship. But in time, changed 
conditions has curtailed the great responsibility of the 
Friends' ministers and elders. 

In addition to the variety of the work put on the monthly 
meeting, or the leading men and women of it, already men- 
tioned, it may be learned from the records of the Haverford 
Mo. Mtg. that sometimes matters which should have been 
settled at home, in the family circle, were laid before the 
meeting, and incorporated in the minutes, as, on 4. llmo. 
1702, the trouble her father had with Hannah Jones, be- 
cause she persisted in "keeping company with Rees Wil- 
liam," after her father had warned her not to have any- 
thing to do with him. He asked aid of the meeting 
(Women's Radnor Mo. Mtg.), to influence Hannah to obey 
him. A minute, in 1693, shows the concern of the monthly 
meeting on account of the tendency of certain Friends, and 
neighbors, "to follow the vain customs of the world," there- 
fore, a committee from the three meetings, Merion, Haver- 
ford and Radnor, was appointed to have "inspection" over 
these back-sliders, and bring them the sense of the right 
way they should behave. 

In 1695, "disorder at Friends funerals" claimed the at- 
tention of the Haverford monthly meeting, for it was re- 
ported that some mourners were "remarked for immoderate 
speaking," and others "for want of seriousness and 
gravity." And in 2mo. 1703, "it is friends desire that 
friends be not Restless in meetings, and stand up in Meet- 
ings, and turn their heads to Publick friends when they 
are bearing Testimony; that such be spoken to." In 1696, 
there v/as much concern in the monthly meeting because 
David Powell posted on the meeting house door certain ac- 
cusations against other Friends (unnamed), "before they 
were dealt v/ith according to Gospel order." This seems to 

[519] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

indicate tliat it was the custom at that day to place "testi- 
monies of denial" in prominent positions at a meeting house. 
In 1726, the representatives to the Philadelphia quarterly 
meeting from the Welsh meetings are instructed to report 
"that things amongst us is not as well as we could desire; 
but a remnant hopes to obtain the victory." This refers to 
some now unknown disagreement between the majority and 
the minority in the Haverford Mo. Mtg., and the smaller 
party was the ministers and elders. On 8. 8mo. 1713, we 
have an example of arbitration by the monthly meeting, 
when "Friends appointed to end the differences between 
David William and John Robert Ellis, reported they have 
agreed to an award, or determination between them." On 
the same date, we have a different example of the "work" 
of the monthly meeting, when "the Merion overseers bring 
a complaint of Edward Rees against Joshua Owen that he 
does not take care to pay him some money that has been due 
to him several years. Edward Jones and John Roberts 
appointed to speak to him to take care to pay his just debts." 
In 9mo. 1717, the matter of "regulation of weddings at 
private houses considered, on advice of the yearly meeting, 
which desired marriages to be only in the meeting house, 
excepting by permission of a monthly meeting," — this rule 
was an echo of their ancestors, members of the Church of 
Rome, and one still enforced by "the greatest hierarchy on 
earth." 

The matter and manner of courtships and marriages 
among these Welsh Friends was one of the first considera- 
tion, and their rules were firmly maintained, and impressed 
on the young and their elders. The rite was clean. Be- 
trothals carelessly entered into, resulting often in "broken 
engagements," were not possible, and "membership" be re- 
tained, for even there were rules of courtship to be observed, 
and they were enforced, therefore, though the country was 
thinly settled, and homes of the betrothed far apart, bund- 

[520] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

ling was not tolerated, as it was at that time in other Ameri- 
can colonies, and long subsequently in this, "up the State."* 
In this matter, the Haverford Mo. Mtg. has the following 
minute, "That all young men among Friends make known 
their intentions to their parents, or guardians, before they 
acquaint the woman's relations, and make it known to the 
woman's parents, or guardian, before they speak to them 
[that is, before the young couple ask consent together], 
and if any do otherwise, they shall condemn the same." 



*From the Men's and Women's minutes of the Concord monthly 
meeting, 4. 2. 1740, Women Friends complained of "Mary Wright, now 
House," as follows "for going to be married by a Priest, and marry- 
ing in a very uncommon way, by putting off her Close and putting 
on a shift, in order to serene her husband from her former husband's 
debts." Mary for this, and "marrying out," was disowned, 3. 4. 1741. 

This seems to have been a way of evading the Provincial law as to 
certain old debts, and the celebrated statesman, Benjamin Franklin, 
says in his Autobiography that he just "took to wife" the young- 
woman (a presumed widow who passed as his wife, and was the 
alleged mother of Franklin's bastard son. Gov. William Franklin, of 
New Jersey. — See Pa. Magazine, Sept. 1911), and who was the 
mother of Mrs. Sarah Bache after this "wedding," and no marriage 
ceremony was performed, although he was then, and afterwards, 
connected with Christ P. E. Church, Philadelphia, else he could have 
been compelled to pay his wife's former "husband's" debts, which 
were considerable when he disappeared, although this "husband" had 
a wife living when he "married" Franklin's subsequent "wife." He 
must have known of the trick of shifting such debts, but preferred to 
have only a "common law wife," which turned out to be a very dis- 
agreeable reminiscence for some descendants of his daughter, — his 
son had no issue. 

Mr. Watson, in "Annals of Philadelphia," also mentions that in 
1734 : — "A widow of Philadelphia was married in her shift, without 
any other apparel upon her from a supposition prevalent then that 
such a procedure would secure her husband in the law from beinj- 
sued for any debts of his predecessor," and that "Kalm, in 1748, 
confirms this fact as a common occurrence when her husband dies in 
debt. She thus affects to leave all to his creditors." The same 
traveller tells of a woman going from her home to the house of her 
intended husband in her shift only, and he meets her on the way and 
clothes her before witnesses, saying, "I lend these clothes." 

[521] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

But, this order obeyed, did not release a Meeting from 
appointing a committee to find out the moral standing of 
the candidates for matrimony, and also, if possible, to learn 
if both were "clear" to marry. "Having declared their in- 
tentions of marriage before this Meeting," a committee of 
several elderly members was "ordered to inspect as to their 
Clearness, and to bring an account thereof to the next Meet- 
ing." There never was any question but that the candi- 
dates were thoroughly "inspected," for if there were ever 
any cases of bigamy among Friends, they never made a 
minute of it. A month after this "declaration," the couple, 
"having laid their Intention of Marriage the second time 
before this Meeting, and nothing but Clearness found on 
each side," the candidates are "left to their freedom to 
proceed therein," and stand up and make their vows one to 
another and that they took each other in marriage, when 
the "Spirit moved them" to do so before any Public Meeting 
of Friends. 

This orderly proceeding in the matter of the second im- 
portant event of life, had everything to do with the orderly, 
clean life in the Welsh Tract, in the years it was virtually 
under the care of Welsh Friends. 

Whether all young Friends approached marriage in the 
solemn manner that the following young Quaker did, I do 
not know, since there are not enough similar confessions 
preserved to decide, but this one certainly went about it 
deliberately. Richard Davies, of Cloddean cochion, and 
Welsh Pool, (or Walsch Pole, as Leland wrote the name), 
in Montgomeryshire, who was one of the subscribing wit- 
nesses, on 11 July, 1681, to Penn's "Conditions and Conces- 
sions to Adventurers for Land," and who had a patent from 
Penn, dated in June and July, 1682, for 5,000 acres of the 
Welsh Tract land, as set forth elsewhere as "Company No. 
7," tells in his autobiography how "the Good Lord alone pro- 
vided an help-meet" for him, after, as he says, "I prayed 

[522J 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

unto Him that she might be of His own providing, for it 
was not yet manifest to me where she was, or who she was." 

His is an unconventional love-story: — 

"But, one time, as I was at Horslydown Meeting, in South- 
wark, I heard a woman Friend open her mouth, by way of 
testimony against an evil, ranting spirit that did oppose 
Friends much in those days. 

"It came to me from the Lord that that woman was to 
be my wife, and to go with me to the country, and to be an 
help-meet for me. 

"After Meeting, I drew somewhat near to her, but spoke 
nothing, nor took any acquaintance with her. Nor did I 
know v/hen, or where I should see her again. I was very 
willing to let the Lord order it, as it seemed best tq Himself, 
and therein I was easy. 

"In time, the Lord brought us acquainted with one an- 
other. She confessed she had some sight of the same thing 
that I had seen concerning her. 

"So, after some time, we parted, and I was freely resigned 
to the will of God. 

"When we came together again, I told her, if the Lord did 
order her to be my wife, she must come with me to a strange 
country, where there were no Friends but what God, in time, 
might call and gather to Himself. 

"Upon a little consideration, she said, if the Lord should 
order it so, she must go with her husband, though it were 
to the wilderness. 

"Being somewhat sensible of the workings of God upon 
her spirit in this matter, she was willing to consider in her 
mind as to what He wi-ought in her. But by barkening 
to one who had not well weighed the matter, she became 
disobedient to what God had revealed to her, which brought 
great sorrow and trouble upon her. 

"I went to see her in this poor condition, and rested satis- 
fied with the will of God in this concern, being freely re- 
signed if the Lord had wrought the same thing in her, as 
was in me, to receive her as His gift to me, 

[523] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"After some time, we waited upon the Lord together. 

"She arose, and declared before me, and the other Friends 
who had begot doubts, and reasonings in her mind, that, 
in the name and power of God, she consented to be my wife, 
and to go along with me, wither the Lord should order us. 

"I said, in the fear of the Lord, 'I receive thee as the Gift 
of God to me.' " 

"So I rested," concludes Mr. Davies, "satisfied with the 
will of God, for a farther accomplishment of it," that she 
would not back out again, but would marry him. "They 
were married, and lived happily ever afterwards," and had 
a son, David Davies, who was living at the time Mr. Davies 
signed the "Concessions." 

The solemn, stilted style of "the greatest Quaker of them 
all," in his love-making letters, when he was past 51 years, 
to the homely woman, over 30 years old, who became his 
second wife on 11 Nov. 1695, are reproduced to show the 
acme of Friends' love-letters of the period. However, we 
should make some allowance for Friend William, as he had 
been schooled in "the gayest Court of Christendom." As 
these two letters were sent to Hannah's father to read first, 
before handing them over to her, it is evident that Mr. Penn 
himself now bowed to the custom prevalent among the 
Friends, which the Haverford monthly meeting insisted 
upon being observed, as above. 

"1st. 12mo. 1694-5. 

"I cannot forbeare to Write where I cannot forebeare to Love as 
I love my dearest Hannah and if yt be a fault, till she ceases to be 
so lovely, I need no Apology for it. Receive, then, my Dearest Heart, 
the Embraces of the best love I have, that lives & flows to thee every 
day, with Continual desires for thy felicity every way: more especially 
in the best things wch setts all to rights, & gives a peace above the 
little & low interruptions of this world. Sufl^er not anj'thing of it to 
disturbe or abate thy satisfaction, but feel thy peace bottom'd upon 
that which is unchangeable, o meet me there, myn own Dearest, in 
thy retired walks & recesses from the world; & lett our fellowship 
be enlarged in that nobler Relation, wch time cannot dissolve; which 
gives us Courage, Sweetness, affection, truth & Constancy in the 
discharge of our Lower relation. The Lord in his wisdom & goodness, 

[524] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

bless comfort, fortefy & settle thy minde & spirit more and more, 
above every careful thought, and anxious and doubtful reflection, with 
wch the most worthy, tender, & humble spirits are too often assaulted 
and but too incident to disquiet themselves with. In all which, my 
heart still loves & embraces thee above every other worldly comfort, 
of which thou hadst a proof in thy last receipt, wch, tho I held the 
lower part too neer, & made it in part illegible I read enough to be 
sensible & Concerned with most endeared affection for my poore deare 
H. and rejoyced yt last time it seemed over. * * * Now, my 
Dearest, I will say no more, only remember the receipt for the eyes, 
& apply it, and at all times, & in all conditions remember thou art 
sure of the love and friendship of Him that is more than he could 
ever tell thee. Thyn Whilst., 

"Wm. Penn." 

"10th. 7mo. 1695. 
"Most Deare H. C. 

"My best love embraces thee wch springs from ye fountaine of 
Love & life, wch Time, Distance nor Disapointments can ever ware 
out, nor ye floods of many & great Waters ever Quench. Here it is 

dearest H yt I behold, love, and valine thee, and desire, above 

all other Considerations, to be known, received & esteemed by thee. 
And Lett me Say, that the loveliness yt the tendring & blessed Truth 
hath beutified thee with, hath made thee amiable in my eyes, above 
many, & for yt it is my heart, from the very first, has cleaved to thee. 
Did I say above many, ay, above all, & yt is my confidence in this 
thing at all times, to my Selfe and others, o let us meet here, most 
Dear H! the comfort is unspeakable, and the fellowship undesolvable. 
I would perswade my self thou art of the same minde, tho it is hard 
to make thee say so. yet yt must come in time, I hope & beleive; for 
why should I love so well & so much where I am not wellbeloved? 
Take it not amiss: I have no other way of Convers, let my letters 
have some place if I deserve any; tho I hope thou art sensible of me 
in yt in wch v»e can never be seperated; but the time draws neer, in 
which I shall enforce this subject beyond all scruple, yet till then I 
Fiust tell thee, & ever that thou art most entirely beloved of 

"Thy unchangeable Feiend W. P." 

AlthoBgh the Welsh may be, and were, of musical tastes, 
and, like the Irish, had a harp peculiar to themselves, there 
is not even a tradition that the Welsh Friends over the 
Schuylkill were inclined to music, singing and dancing, and 
so it is safe to imagine that music and fine arts, and classic 

[525] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

literature were not parts of their life. Yet, they were far 
removed from boors, and had literary taste along congenial 
lines for it is on record that the Radnor monthly meeting 
voted "£40 by the year to encourage him [William Brad- 
ford] to continue in the art and practice of printing," and 
this was a very liberal subsidy considering the scarcity of 
cash at that time. 

On 5mo. 14, 1720, there is a minute, in the Radnor Mo. 
Mtg. records, as to the printing, at his wish, of the MS left 
by Ellis Pugh, who "in the time of his long sickness had 
composed divers religious points contained in a few sheets 
accommodating to the understanding of illiterate, mean 
people, which he earnestly desired might be published in the 
British tongue, and sent to his native country, as Friends 
might see Service." Twelve Friends were appointed by 
each of the monthly meetings of Haverford and Gwynedd, 
to consider this weighty matter, "they reported unity and 
satisfaction, and recommended the publication." Thomas 
Pugh, a Welshman, was a bookseller in Philadelphia in 1702. 

It is elsewhere noted that John Humphrey, of Haverford, 
in his will, dated 1699, gave £10 towards the expense of re- 
printing, in Welsh, "The Testimony of the Twelve Patri- 
archs, and The Sons of Jacob." Up to 1702, this had not 
been done, as the money was then loaned to the Haverford 
Meeting. And in 1723-4, the Radnor monthly meeting sub- 
scribed for fourteen copies of Sewell's "History of the 
Quakers," for the members of the preparative meetings of 
Merion and Radnor. 

It does not appear that the Welsh Friends experienced 
trouble here in their first years as they had had in the old 
country on the hat question, so it may be presumed they sat 
"covered" in the Provincial Court, without creating com- 
ment. That Friends chose to wear their hats in places 
where others removed theirs, as a mark of respect for the 
law, or the service, be it in court, or in church, was not a 
fad which they clung to obstinately, for the general explana- 
tion of their custom is thac the hat is as much a gannent 

[526] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

as any of the clothing of a man, and that it is just as sense- 
less to uncover the head as to take off the coat, or the shoes, 
in court, or church, or meeting.* And, if we are to believe 
Pepys, in ^e seventeenth century, in his day, it v^^as not re- 
markable that men sat in the "steeple house" v^^earing hats, 
for he records : "To church and heard a simple fellow open 
the praise of church musique and exclaiming against men 
wearing their hats on in the church." and again, that he 
saw a minister "preach Vv^ith his hat off, . . . which 
I never saw before." At that time the hat was an integral 
part of a man's costume, and Pepys himself apparently 
wore his hat all the time, excepting in bed, for he records : 
"caught a strange cold in my head by flinging off my hat at 
dinner." 

However, from 1707-8, when the country began to be peo- 
pled with promiscuous inhabitants, especially descendants 
of those who had persecuted Quakers in the old country, the 
"burning question," "Had Quakers the right to wear their 
hats in the Court of Chester?" was a popular one in non- 
Quaker Chester Co. The final answer, and settlement of 
the query, came about in this way in 1720. One day, in the 
Chester Court, the Quaker lawyer's, John Kinsey's, hat was 
knocked off by a tipstaff, when he refused to remove it upon 

*John Churchman, of Philadelphia, a Friends' minister of the Gospel, 
in his Journal, 1738, tells of being- joined in his journey in Maryland, 
by Mr. John Browning, of Cecil Co., "a Friend from Sassafrass" 
meeting. He relates that Mr. Browning, "some time before, had 
been convinced of the blessed Truth"; that he had been a member of 
the Church of England, and a vestryman; that "he had felt a scruple 
in his mind about taking off his hat when entering the church yard, 
so called, fearing it was superstitious adoration of the grounds from 
its supposed holiness, but would take it off when he entered the 
worship house, and walk uncovered to his pew. But after a time 
could not uncover his head until what they called Devine Service 
began." On his death bed, Mr. Browning told his wife to have the 
Friends place the tomb-stones, which he hsfd prepared for his parents' 
graves, for hearth stones in the new brick house he was then having 
built, which was what he intended doing himself, as he, as a Friend, 
did not approve of monuments. 

[527] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

the announcement of the opening of the court. The Quakers 
of the country were very indignant, and the matter came 
formally not only before the Chester monthly meeting, but 
the Haverford monthly meeting, which presented a remon- 
strance to Gov. Keith, signed by Richard Hayes, Morris 
Morris, Anthony Morris, Evan Evans, Rowland Ellis, Reese 
Thomas, &c. The Governor ruled that Friends, should they 
so desire, may wear their hats in Court, and especially in 
the Court of Chancery. 

This reminds me that visitors to the old Merion meeting 
house are shown a wooden pin in the wainscoting above the 
elder's benches. About this pin itself, or its location, there 
is nothing remarkable, but the guide will infonn you that 
it was on a similar pin, that used to be in the same position, 
William Penn hung his hat whenever he addressed this meet- 
ing. So much was said about this at the bi-centennial, that 
some rascal stole William Penn's hat pin, and, therefore, the 
similar, new peg in the wall. 

Of course, it is possible that William Penn visited the 
Merion meeting, when he was the second time in his pro- 
vince, but I have seen no contemporary record of it, and only 
know of the tradition, the same that connects him with the 
house built by Robert Owen, it is claimed about 1695, which 
is that he "often made it his stopping place whilst travelling 
through these parts." For this reason the old house has 
been known in late years as "the Penn Cottage."* 

But the good evidence that he was present at least once at 
a meeting of the Haverford monthly mee'ting may be found 
in the Journal of Thomas Story, the English Friends min- 
ister who came over here on a visit in 1698-99, stopping 



*This once little stone house, told of elsewhere, which stands ou 
Montgomery Ave., back of Wynnewood RR station was changed from 
its original appearance about 1873, and subsequently to its present 
appearance, yet the walls of the original house remain. When Col. 
Owen Jones's father built the mansion house near the Owen house, 
and removed from the latter into it, the older house became the 
farmer's house, but before that, every occupant of it held a prominent 

[528] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

most of his time with Samuel Carpenter, in Philadelphia. 
He records: — "I remained here [Philadelphia] till the 2d 
of the 11th mo. [1699], and then went in company of the 
governor and other friends to a general meeting at Haver- 
ford, among the Welsh, wherein we met with great refresh- 
ment. . . . After the meeting, the governor 
returned to Philadelphia, and I staid at a Friend's house, 
accompanied by my near friend, Dr. Griffith Owen, who, 
with our valued Friend Hugh Roberts, and some others, 
went with me the next morning to a meeting at German- 
town." 

Mr. Story says he was again, on 5. Imo. 1699, at a very 
large gathering at the Haverford monthly meeting, and re- 
turned after it directly to Philadelphia. On 13. lOmo. 1699, 
he records that he was with Penn on a visit to Chester, that 
they dined with Caleb Pusey, two miles off, and they went ta 
lodge with John Blunston, eight miles off. And on 20. lOmo. 
without Penn, he went "to 4th day meeting, which fell in 
course at Haverford-West, among the Welsh Friends, and 
Griffith Owen was with me. The meeting was small, no 
Notice being given, but comfortable. And that night we 
lodged with John Bevan. The next day, Radnor meeting 
falling of course, we went to it. It was small, for want of 
Notice of our coming, and because of the Badness of the 
Weather, for it rained and froze at the same time. That 
night we lodged with Richard Orms. The day following we 
took Merion meeting, also in course. It was large and 
heavenly, for Friends had heard from the former meetings 
that we were going that way, and several from thence met 
us there likewise. After meeting, we went with John 



social and official position in Merion. In the builder's time, it could 
have been called the local court house, since as the magistrate, the 
judiciary head of the township, Robert Owen, here held his court for 
the hearing of cases that were not such that the monthly meeting 
could adjust. His son, Evan Owen, inherited his father's judicial 
mind, but was a magistrate in Philadelphia, and Robert Jones bercame 
His Majesty's Justice in Merion. 

[529] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Roberts, and lodged at his House that night, and the next 
morning returned to Philadelphia." On 19. Imo. 1699, Mr. 
Story attended the Bui'lington meeting with William Penn. 

Not only were the men of the Welsh, or Haverford or 
Radnor monthly meeting active in what could be termed 
"church work," but the women also had a large part to per- 
form. For it is in the records of the Women Friends of this 
monthly meeting, after 1684, they were obliged, occasion- 
ally, to take up collections of corn, wheat, &c., for the relief 
of unfortunates in their midst, who had to be helped along 
when their crops failed, or were the newcomers who needed 
assistance till their time of harvest and plenty. Or a loan 
would be made by the monthly meeting, "to collect [for] 
him, out of each meeting, effects to buy him a Cow and Calfe 
at Spring, provided he doth repay it, if he be able, here- 
after. It being his proposall to ffriends when he requested 
the same." Or, "It was ordered as followeth: That Three 
pds of the Collection of Haverford & Merion is ordered fey 
this Meeting to be paid to assist ... to build 
him a Home, vizt ; Thirty shillings of each Township." "At 
our Women friends meeting, held at Haverford, ye 17th of 
1st month, 1697-8, it is ordered thirty Shillings out of the 
Collection for John Cadwalader to help him att his p'sent 
necsity." And in another instance, "it was ordered by this 
Meeting that Cadder Morgan and James Thomas do re- 
ceive the voluntary gift of Meirion Meeting to assist 

in his present distress, he having 

sustained loss by fires, that Richard Ormes and Stephen 
Sevan, for Radnor, and Maurice Llewellyn and David Hum- 
phrey, of Haverford, to receive the voluntary subscriptions 
of each of the sd Townships, to the sd use." Such items 
show that there was in early days of first settlement that 
neighborly interest in the Welsh Tract common later among 
the pioneers of the "middle west." 

But the charities of this monthly meeting were not con- 
fined to local needs, as it contributed £60. 14. 11. collected 
by John Roberts, and sent the money, towards aiding desti- 

[530] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

tute Friends in and about Boston, Mass., when being per- 
secuted by the fanatics there. And on another occasion, 
sent £10. 10. 4. towards a fund raised for the redemption 
of the wife and children of John Hanson, who were carried 
off by Indians in New England, in 1724. This monthly 
meeting was also generous towards weak preparative meet- 
ings, and always prompt in payment to the quarterly meet- 
ing its proportion, and upon the erection of "the new Meet- 
ing House," in the city, the contributions of the preparative 
meetings were Merion, £6.5.0, Haverford, £6.0.0, and Rad- 
nor, £1.7.6. This indicates the relative ability of these meet- 
ings to raise money, and possibly the extent of membership 
in each. 

From the earliest times, the meeting houses were recog- 
nized as centers of information in the Welsh Tract, and we 
find that on the first establishment of the postal service, 
notice of the time of departure of mails was ordered to be 
tacked on meeting house doors, where also were placed the 
notices of the time and place of receiving quitrent, notices 
of strayed domestic animals, &c. 

At the very first, the Haverford Monthly Meeting began 
being careful about those coming from abroad asking to be 
admitted into membership. In all cases the old World 
Friends' custom of requiring Certificates of Membership in 
good standing, and orderly removal, and transference from 
the meeting the applicant had claimed to be connected with, 
were required aad demanded, and the old world meetings 
sustained Haverford Mo. Mtg. in this. It may be seen there 
was good reason for this cautiousness in early times from 
the following extract from one of the earliest certificates 
filed with the Haverford monthly meeting, though it is un- 
dated, and without stating what meeting gave it, but evi- 
dently one in Merionethshire, and possibly one near Dol- 
gelley (phonetically written Dolgethle by Leland). It is 
that of "Evan ap William Powell, late of the parish of 
Llanvaehreth, Merioneth," who removed with his wife, 
Gwen, and two sons, David, then married, and Philip, and 

[531] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

his daughter-in-law, Gainor, with her two small children : — 
"Whereas, Likewise many have been known to transport 
themselves, or were transported upon account of their Evill 
doeings, as theft, murther, Debts, or running away in pas- 
sionate discontentedness with parents, wifes, or the like," 
therefore, this Meeting took pleasure in giving this family 
a clean bill. This description of some of the early Pensyl- 
vania settlers, not from Wales, as the signers were un- 
likely acquainted with the class of immigrants from else- 
where, was signed by Messrs. Evan and Hugh Rees, Ellis 
Davids, Evan, Lewis, Rowland, David and Robert Owen, 
William and Owen Humphrey, Humphrey Howell, Griffith 
Ellis, Griffith and David John, Rees and John Evans, and 
Richard Davies. 

These certificates, originally intended as vouchers for the 
good character of the bearers, have become valuable genea- 
logical assets for descendants of the Quaker immigrants, 
since they indicate the home of the immigrant, and often 
told something of his people. The certificates, and the writ- 
ten accounts of immigrants required to be filed with meet- 
ings by them, are the sources of much genealogical data, 
hence through these papers we can identify almost any 
family of Quaker settlers. This fact appears of more im- 
portance when we read in Mr. Diff'enderffer's "German Im- 
migration into Pensylvania, 1700-1775," that descendants of 
these immigrants bewail the dearth of infoiTnation as to 
the antecedents of the Germans, and a knowledge of the 
towns, and districts even whence they removed, for they 
brought no genealogy with them, so back of the German 
settlers, with very few exceptions, their family history is as 
blank as a negro's. 



[532] 



MERION, HAVERFORD, RADNOR 

As already noted, the Welsh Friends of Merlon and Hav- 
erford, in Nov. 1684, selected sites for their burial places. 
Up to this time, there had been in Merlon only two deaths 
in 1682, five in 1683, and none in 1684. But there is no 
similar minute preserved which records that these Friends 
considered the erection of meeting houses for their neigh- 
borhoods, at so early a period. From their minutes, we 
learn that from 4mo. 1684 to 22. 2 mo. 1698, the monthly 
meetings were at the private houses of Hugh Roberts and 
John Bevan, when they began to take place at the Merlon 
meeting house. But from this, we are not to imagine there 
was no public meeting place in Merlon before 1698, as there 
are a few items, as below, that proved the Merlon Friends 
had a meeting house as early as 3mo. 1689. It may have 
been a log house, or a stone building, but no record has 
turned up guaranteeing its material, or its quality, nor the 
location of such a meeting house, unless as tradition says, 
it stood just east of the present house. And, if we are to 
have any confidence in Fi'iends' records, there certainly was 
some building used for public worship here for the accom- 
modation of the Merion preparative meeting, as there is the 
record, under 19, 3mo. 1693, of a wedding "in a solemn and 
public assembly in our public meeting place at Merion." A 
private house would hardly be thus described. 

From the minutes of the Merion Women Friends' meet- 
ings, 1689, 3mo. "Paid towards the meeting house, one shil- 
ling, and 414 bushel of wheat, @ 3s. 6d per bushel." 

1689, 8mo. "Paid towards the meeting house." 

1690, llmo. "2 bushel of wheat paid to B. S. for swiping 
[sweeping] the meeting house." 

1693, lOmo. "Paid Blainch ShaiT)lus for cleaning ye meet- 
ing house, 8. 0." [This Blanch Sharpless, the caretaker of 

[533] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

the Merion meeting house, was a widow at that time, and 
on llmo. 23, 1694, she married at the Haverford meeting, 
Owen Morgan, widower, of Haverford, and was succeeded 
as caretaker by "Tho Phey."] 

During the days of the commemoration of the present 
stone meeting house of Merion Friends, or the bi-centen- 
nial of its commencement or completion, there was, as could 
be expected, since the question was not settled in the minds 
of some, and there was some petty jealousy on the part of 
members of some other meeting whose meeting house is 
supposed to rival that of Merion in age, inquiry as to the 
true date, or proof of date when the Merion meeting house 
was erected, and this while above the heads of the dis- 
putants was the positive assurance that it was "Built in 
1695." Of course, it is evident that the present date-tablet 
was made and placed in the gable wall in the year 1829, on 
the order of the "Hicksite Friends," after they came into 
sole control of the pi-operty, when they repaired the build- 
ing. This should strengthen the claim as to "1695" being 
the correct date of completion, for who would accuse the 
then trustees of the meeting of manufacturing and trans- 
mitting a false date. For this reason, this date-stone cannot 
be classed with "tombstone evidence," which is never 
reliable unless we know by whose authority the inscription 
was made, and the quality of his integrity and veracity. 
Apparently there was once another, smaller date-stone in 
the front gable, about the size to state "BUILT IN 1695, 
which was stolen, as was the one from the old Rowland Ellis 
house back of Bryn Mawr. In both cases the niche in which 
it rested is prominent. 

Though it is of little or no consequence now whether the 
Merion meeting house, as it stands, was, as its date-stone 
says, built in 1695, or was not, and whether, or not, the so- 
called Hicksite Friends can make good their statement, the 
fact is, that it was on this spot, in this house, or its prede- 
cessor, that the Welsh Friends held their early "town nieet- 

[534] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

ings" ; first considered together formally the needs of their 
"barony," after attending to their spiritual needs, and both 
under the leadership of their nninisters and elders, for here, 
no less than in any of the American colonies, the "Church" 
was paramount at the beginning, yet it is a subject inter- 
esting archeologically. 

Of this date tablet, which from its position it may be 
supposed records the year of completion of the building, 
although it is not a cap-stone, just as a "corner-stone" 
would have told the time of its beginning, the two deceased 
local authorities, William J. Buck, and Dr. George Smith, 
are on record as saying that "this was the means of leading 
many astray, they supposed the present edifice had been 
erected at that date [1695], whereas, it was the date of the 
erection of the original building whose place it supplanted 
eighteen years later." And further, "this has now been so 
long and v/idely published that the impression will not be 
so readily removed." These archeologists decided, "the first 
meeting house was of wood, built in 1695, and used till 1713, 
when the present one [of stone] was built." They agreed 
that the date "1829," also on the tablet, referred to the 
time when the rough stone of which the house was built 
were overcast v/ith cement to make them appear like some- 
thing better, or uniform, and when the building was gen- 
erally overhauled and repaired by the Hicksite branch when 
it entered upon possession. 

Unfortunately, the minutes of the Merion Men's Meeting 
are wanting in the very years so necessary for data of the 
first meeting house, as the minutes between 6 mo. 1686 and 
5 mo. 1693 have been lost. But, thankful for the little that 
has survived concerning the Merion meeting, and its house, 
in the earliest years, I here assemble what data there is 
extant in relation to the meeting house that came before 
Merion men Friends in their meetings, but first giving two 
little items, of some importance in this discussion, from the 
extant minutes of the Merion Women Friends' meetings, 

[535] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

"In ye year 1694, an account of what was laid out of 
Merion Women's collection : [paid] Tho Phey 2 bushels and 
half bushels of wheat for cleaning ye meeting house, 8. 0." 

"1695, 3mo. 9th. For cleaning ye [meeting] houses, hav- 
ing received 3s. of collection. Lay'd out £1. 13, 2. Contribu- 
tions in wheat, bushels and half bushels." 

There is no question that there was a "Merion meeting 
house" about the year 1700, as Friend Thomas Story, in his 
Journal, under 15. lOmo, 1699, records, "this day held s^ 
large meeting at the Merion meeting house." And the 
extant minutes of the Merion Men Friends' meetings, in 
1700-1705, tell that these assemblies were held regularly in 
the meeting house of Merion, and that in 1700-1702, an addi- 
tion was built to the Merion meeting house, and paid for. 
and in 1702-3, sundry items of hardware, &c., for the 
Merion meeting house were ordered and paid for. And all 
these little items suggest they were procured for a newly 
built house. But the minutes of the Merion Men's Meeting 
between 5 mo. 1693 and 8mo. 1699 are extant and accessible, 
and it was within these years that the present stone house, 
the "Hicksites" advertised, in 1829, on the tablet, was built, 
yet the minutes up to 1699, record nothing whatever of such 
work, which would be looked after by the men Friends of 
the meeting. In order to appreciate this, it can be seen in 
the extant minutes of the same body, as below, that it was 
the custom at that time, to record in their minutes items 
the like we would expect to find in them between 1693-99, if 
building the present stone house, before, or about 1695. 

1702-3, 4. 12mo. A minute under this date, of the Merion 
Men's Meeting, records a call for cash contributions to pay 
for an addition to the meeting house, the minute reading: 
"griffith John is continued [as collector] to speak to those 
that have not paid their subscriptions towards building the 
addition to the meeting House, and to receive it, and to 
bring account thereof to the next meeting." In the absence 
of any details as to this addition, it is presumed it referred 
to building the stone kitchen and warming room for the 

[536] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

females, which adjoined the meeting house, on the west side, 
and was there many years for the accommodation of Friends 
coming from a distance, and spending a whole day at a 
meeting in cold weather. According to these minutes, the 
usual meetings for worship and business were held in the 
meeting house during the year 1700-1705, therefore, what- 
ever this "addition" was, the work of building it did not 
interfere with the use of the main building, and it may 
have been the kitchen that was the "addition," as supposed, 
and not the "transcept," as has also been claimed by those 
who imagined the "nave" was first portion of the meetintr 
house built. But expert builders have examined the build- 
ing to see if there was anything in this idea, and have 
declared the house was built all at one time, and just as it 
now stands, excepting the stucco embellishment inflicted on 
it in 1829, and interior partitions, a uniform and choice 
little piece of architecture. 

Apparently, the subscriptions referred to did not come in 
satisfactorily, or the cost of the "addition" was more than 
the estimate, for there was not money enough to pay off the 
charge in the year 1706, when, in the 2d and 3d months of 
that year, Evan Owen (son of the Friends' minister, Robert 
Owen, deceased), Edward Cadwalader, Moses Roberts, Evan 
Jones, Jonathan Wynne and John David, desired permission 
of the Merion meeting to add their subscriptions to the 
collection to help pay for the "addition." The list of sub- 
scribers to this building fund has not been preserved. 

In themselves, they are little things, but the following 
acts were of sufficient interest at the time to be noted, and 
like many trivial matters, they have been preserved to us, 
while those of great importance to us have not been. On 5. 
Imo. 1702-3, the Men's Meeting "ordered that Robert 
Roberts make a cubord [cupboard, or closet] in ye meeting 
House to the use of ye Meeting to keep ffriends Books or 
papers." Robert seems to have filled the order, but not as 
well as he should, or something had happened to "ye cub- 
ord," for, on 7. 3mo. 1703, Thomas Jones was ordered to 

[537] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

get hinges and a lock for this meeting house closet. It looks 
as if a burglar had visited the Merion meeting house, as on 
the same day, Owen Roberts was ordered to speak with 
David Maurice, (who may have been the caretaker), "con- 
cerning securing the meeting house," and John Moore, 
(probably a blacksmith) , was ordered "to make hooks and 
staples to the meeting House Windows." John was also 
commissioned "to make a grybeing how [grubbing-hoe] to 
the use of the meeting." This was in the month of May, and 
the ground about the probably new building would need to 
be graded. Or possibly there had been no trespass on the 
meeting house, and the new hooks and staples were neces- 
sary for the new building, for, under the same date, 7 May, 
1703, Owen Roberts and Robert Jones were "to gett boardes 
sowed for Benches, and for the Loft." From this item, it 
looks as if a new building was being slowly completed and 
fitted up. John Moore was certainly slow about his work, 
for a month later he had not filled his order, nor had Thomas 
Jones, and were so reported to the Men's Meeting, but they 
were "continued," and in the following month, Thomas had 
fixed the book closet, but Maurice had not "secured" the 
house, therefore, on 3. 7mo. Sept. John Roberts, Owen 
Roberts, and Robert Jones were appointed to see carpen- 
ters "to secure the meeting House," This may not have 
been, however, to make the meeting house "burglar proof," 
but may have meant anything from stopping leaks to put- 
ting a roof on a new or old meeting house. 

If these extant items refer entirely to an addition to the 
new meeting house at Merion, it will be seen they are few, 
and that they refer to a period after "1695," and are the 
earliest references to any work on a new meeting place for 
the Merion meeting. It further appears in the minutes of 
the Merion Men's monthly meeting, that John Roberts acted 
as the treasurer of what we may suppose was the building 
fund, and that this money was accumulated by subscrip- 
tions from individuals and from other meetings, but 
whether all for the "addition," or in the most for the new 

[538] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

building, it is only a guess. However, whatever was built, 
was finished and partly paid for before 6mo. (August), 
1703, for on 6 August, this year, John Roberts reports, his 
account showing the "balance due ffriends £2. 19. 11," and 
of this amount he himself owed £1. 8. 5, (probably the 
balance of his subscription), which he proposed to cancel 
with his bill "for Sawing upon ye account of ye meeting," 
as he conducted a sawmill. As to the balance, or £1. 11. 6, he 
said it would have to be determined whether he, or the ex- 
ecutors of Robert Owen, deceased, should pay this to the 
meeting, as the balance due it from contributors. He said 
if it was his obligation, he would let it also go towards 
paying his bill for sawing out timbers, for the meeting 
owed him this much. He also reported that he had paid 
himself "out of ye poores taxe, £2. 10. 0," "in sawing in 
behalf of ye Meeting." The following is the only other 
accounting that is extant, made by Mr. Roberts to the 
Merion Men's meeting, and it may be seen is all in the 
matter of the "addition." 
1703, 3d. Imo. Paying for work on House 

for the addition to it. 
Presented accts of 
Richard Thomas, due him for work 
Received from Margaret Thomas 



£1. 


12. 
10 


0, 


. £1 


02. 


0. 




05. 


0, 




03. 


9, 




01. 


8. 



Richard Thomas Bal. 

Robert Thomas for work on meeting House 
Moses Roberts " " 
Evan Griffith " " 

All paid. (7. 3mo. 1703). 

It seems that Griffith John who was continued as col- 
lector of "slow" subscriptions, in Feb. 1702-3, was replaced 
by Thomas Jones, as the latter reported, on 3. 10. 1703, "he 
hath fully paid what remains in his hands of the subscrip- 
tion monies he was appointed to receive." This balance is 
not stated. It was probably paid to John Roberts, as treas- 
urer, as he endorsed, "the accounty viewed." 

[539] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Messrs. Buck and Smith, and others following them, de- 
cided, as above said, that "the first meeting house was of 
wood, built in 1695." This, by the extracts from the extant 
minutes of the Merion men's monthly meeting, we can see 
was wrong, for there was a Merion meeting house long 
before 1695. They also held that this wooden meeting 
house was "used till 1713, when the present one [of stone] 
v/as built." As to "1713," anon. As to the wooden build- 
ing being the meeting house in 1695-1713, it does not seem 
probable in the face of some data of record. We shall see 
that the date "1713" was at the wrong end of the life of the 
stone house, for that was the year in which it was entirely 
finished. 

From the items I have furnished, and from some yet to 
give, I am of the opinion that the stone meeting house of 
Merion was begun as far back as in 1691, when it was pos- 
sible for the Merion Friends to begin building on land they 
owned; that the date "1695" was only presumed as the 
building date, because that was the year in which this meet- 
ing had its deed for the burial ground, as we shall see ; that 
the stone house was built slowly, and as the money was 
contributed, we have evidence; that about 1695, it was so 
far advanced that it could be used under favorable condi- 
tions; that up to this time, a one-story log building was 
"our public place of meeting," as was the case in other parts 
of the country; that the "addition" to the meeting house, 
in 1702, was either the kitchen, or addition meant to build 
some more of the house under construction ; that "securing" 
the meeting house, in 1703, meant roofing what was fin- 
ished; that in May, 1703, it was far enough progressed to 
put in the benches, and floor the loft. But that it was then 
far from finished, may be seen by the following items, in the 
following year, and up to 1713. 

From the minutes of the Merion men's monthly meeting. 

1703-4, 2mo. 7, and 4mo. 2. "Edward Rees, Edward 
Jones, Owen Roberts, Evan Harry, Rowland Richard, 

[540] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

Robert Jones, and John Roberts, ordered to see for stones 
to build a meeting house, and to get workmen to dig for 
them." 

This is the first reference of stone in connection with the 
new building. "To build a meeting house," looks at first 
reading as if there was meeting house to be built elsewhere, 
or as if Merion meeting was now about to begin building 
one for itself, but it was only the scribe's awkwardness of 
expression. 

1704, 9mo. (Nov.), 3. "The workmen employed by this 
meeting to dig stone, desiring to be paid, Edward Rees, and 
Griffith John are desired to answer them untill friends have 
an opportunity to collect them." That is, the committee 
must see the workmen and tell them to wait till the meeting 
could collect the money. This shows the money was col- 
lected as the work progressed, and that payments were made 
as they came due. 

1704, lOmo. 8. It was ordered to collect money "to pay 
workmen for digging stone to the Meeting house." Here we 
have the definite article for the indefinite. 

1704, llmo. 5. John Roberts, as the treasurer, reported 
that he has a balance in hand of 13s. 2d, after advancing 
money to pay "for digging the Stone to ye meeting House." 
till it could be collected. He also reported that "a legacy 
of £6. 2. 8. to the use of the Merion meeting." He had laid 
it out at interest he reported. 

During its building operation, the Merion meeting seems 
to have but little difficulty in raising money to carry it on, 
but it is notable that contributions were not asked til! 
after work was done, and to be paid for. There is no evi- 
dence that the meeting had any assistance with money from 
other meetings while paying workmen in early years ; but 
then the men's records are not complete. There is evidence, 
however, that the Merion meeting helped the Haverford 
meeting materially towards building its meeting house, in 
1701, and that Haverford subsequently replied in kind.* 

*The names of some of the members of the Merion meeting, during 

[541] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

these years, are preserved in the extant marriage certificate of Jona- 
than Jones and Gainer Owen, whose wedding took place in the Merion 
HQceting house, in 1706 as follows: 



Griffith Owen. 
John Owen. (3). 
Martha Owen. 
Sarah Owen. 
Evan Owen. 
Owen Owen. 
Robert Owen. 
Joshua Owen. 
Elizabeth Owen. 
Robert Jones. 
John Jones. (2). 
Richard Jones. 
Gainor Jones. (2). 
Jane Jones. 
Anne Jones. 
Ellen Jones. 
Edward Jones. (2). 
Mary Jones. 
Evan Jones. 
Elizabeth Jones. 
Catharine Jones. 
Rees Thomas. 
Martha Thomas. 
Caleb Pusey. 
Cadwalader Roberts. 
Edward Roberts. (2). 
Robert Roberts. 
Rebecca Roberts. 
Anne Roberts. 
Gainor Roberts. 
Elizabeth Roberts. 
John Roberts. 
Jane Roberts. 
Thomas Lloyd. 
Gainor Lloyd. 
Elizabeth Lloyd. 



Robert Lloyd. 
Catharine Humphrey. 
Rebecca Humphrey. 
Daniel Humphrey. 
Hannah Humphry. 
John Cadwalader. 
Martha Cadwalader. 
Joshua Salkeld. 
David Meredith. 
Edward Rees. 
Rees ap Edward. 
Thomas Evan. 
Robert Evan. 
Jonathan Wynne. 
John Moore. 
Edward Griffith. 
John Griffith. 
Evan Griffith. 
Hugh Griffith. 
Griffith John. 
Robert John. 
Mary Orme. 
Catharine Orme. 
Owen Bevan. (2). 
Eleanor Bevan. 
William Edwards. 
Rees Price. 
Jane Price. 
John Williams. 
Sarah Williams. | 
Rowland Ellis. 
Robert Ellis. 
Cadwalader Evan. 
Mary Badcock. (2). 
Elizabeth Badcock. 
Jane ab Edward. 



[542] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

On a single sheet of writing paper, partly burned and 
badly frayed, and almost illegible, which was found in the 
oldest minute book of the Merion Women Friends' monthly 
meeting, there is preserved John Roberts's personal account 
(somewhat complicated) of the cash contributed towards 
finishing and furnishing the Merion Meeting House, and the 
expenditure of the same, up to 10. 4mo. 1717, as below. It 
will be noticed that stone was not bought, nor masons paid, 
but that boards were bought and carpentering paid for, and 
for this reason it seems the work was on the interior, for 
partitions, gallery, &c., excepting for some shingling. The 
collections were continued to be taken in 1712 to 12mo. 
1713-14, and later. The decipherable figures in this ancient 
account show that at least £267 were subscribed in money, 
labor, and materials, but the standing of the account cannot 
be determined because of the incompleteness of the entries. 
1712/13. Merion Meeting House. 

To John Moore bill for work done 
To Edw'd Jones acct for diett. Liquor, 

board, and other things 
To Richard Hains acct for 14200 sh [ingles] (?) 
To Ellis Pugh acct for 216 at 3/10 pr ( ' 

To James Thomas acct for lime 
To John Knowles acct for carpenter work 
To Richard Jones bill for sawing 
To Wm & Edw'd Rob'ts acct for ditto 
To 28 bus lime & cartage yt Owen Thomas 

brought 
To Rob't Jones acct for sundries 
To Daniel England acct for boards &c 
To Rob't Evan for ditto 
To John Conor for 46 bus of lime 
To John Rob'ts acct for naills & 
To Edw'd Rees acct for sundries 
To Hinges had at Jno Caddw[alader's] 
To Rob't David for D. The acct 
To Owen Rob'ts 

[543] 





Dr 




£2. 


17. 


9 


(?) 


(?) 


41/2 


;?) 


(?) 


(?) 


?) 


(?) 


8 


(?) 


16. 


IV2 


47. 


10. 


71/2 


27. 


8. 


10 


2. 


13. 


8 


1. 


19. 


8 


5. 


9. 


21/2 


1. 


17. 
7. 


10 


1. 


14. 


6 


11. 


16. 


21/2 


25. 


10. 


2 




14. 


8 




16. 





WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

To Geo Claypoole acct 

To John Jones carpenter ace 

To Thomas Kendall acct 



To Owen Rogers acct 






2. 


10 


To Thomas Lassells acct 


Subscriptic 




6. 


10 


Meeting House 


ms. 






John Roberts 






Dr 




To Wm Edw'd 




£3. 


0. 





To Thomas Jones 




3. 


1. 


2 


To Jno Thomas 




1. 


1. 


6 


To Geo Scolym 




1. 


0. 





To Rob't Evan 




9. 


10. 





To Abel Thomas 




1. 


3. 


10 


To Robert David 




4. 


4. 





To David Price 




2. 


9. 


91/2 


To Jonathan Cogshall 






10. 


8 


To Robert Lloyd 




2. 


10. 


3 


To Robert Evan 




1. 


5. 


1 


To Wm Edward 




1. 


1. 


9 


To Thomas Jones 




2. 


18 


91/2 


To Rob't Evan 




1. 


4. 


11 


To Jno Rob'ts 




5. 


0. 





To A Thomas 




(?) 


11. 


4 


[Co]gshall 




(?) 


9. 


4 


for R Evans 


acct 


2. 


4. 


6I/3 


wen 


acct 


3. 


15. 





[Rojb'ts 




3. 


12. 


01/2 


To John Griffith 




1. 


4. 


8 


To John Roberts 




3. 


16. 


6 


Pugh 




2. 


1. 


11% 


To Rob't Evan 




1. 


4. 


3 


To Rowland Ellis for R P acct 




1. 


12. 


01/4, 


[R]ob'ts 




(?) 
2. 
2. 


15. 






[544] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 



To Ro aid 

To Jno Thomas 

To John Roberts 

To Rob't Evan 

To Owen Thomas for his mothers acct 

To Moses Roberts 

To David Price 

To Abel Thomas &c 

To Rob't David 



1. 


5. 


4 




10. 


41/2 


17. 


8. 





1, 






J,, 


9. 


4 


J_ , 


3. 


4 


1, 


5. 


51/2 


J., 


10. 










2. 


7. 


8 


1. 


16. 


4 


4 







Dr 
1713. 



[Roberts' total] £107. 8. 41/2 
Meeting House Subscriptions 



6mo. 6. To Ball due Elhs Pugh 




18. 


5. 


8 


To Rich'd Jones acct 




4. 


6. 


7 


To Wm & Edw'd Rob'ts 




2. 


13. 


8 


To Ball due to Edw'd Jones 


6. 


3. 


41/2 


To John Moore 






19. 


3 


To Edw'd Rees acct 




10. 


10. 


2 




£41. 


18. 


81/3 


To Jno Rob'ts 13. 3. 


11 








To Tho Jones 4. 13. 











To Sundrie persons 32. 7. 


2 








24. 13. 


¥2 








£74 17. 


11/2 




1713, 6mo. 6. Amounting to 




£179. 


15. 





subscriptions not i 


rec'd 


36. 


19. 


71/2 



Subscriptions allready Rec'd 142. 15. 41/^ 

Cadd Morgan 10. 0. 0. 

Hugh Tho Bond and interest 17. 8. 



£170. 



41/2 



[545] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



John Roberts continued 
To David Price 
To Robert Evan 
To Owen Rob'ts 
To Rowland Ellis 
To Rachel Rob'ts 
To Rob't David 
To Jona Cogshall 
To Rob't Roberts 
To Edw'd Roberts 
To Abell Thomas 
To Haverford IMeeting 
To Rees Howell 



1713/4. 12mo. 12. 



Sura 
The amt of ye other 



Dr 
2. 

1. 15. 
1. 

2. 5. 
10. 

1. 10. 
1. 
1. 
5. 



18. 
3. 



10. 

2. 

15. 



7 
6 



^;.. 



34. 


10. 


1 


107. 


8. 


41/2 


£141. 


18. 


51/2 



'" ' : Cr. 

By Rich'd Jones 

By ditto :, 

By cash for shingles &c 

By naills 

By Jno Knowles Carpenter 

By James Thomas 

By naills 

By ditto 

By James Thomas 

By Tho Rees on ditto acct 

By naills 

By Ellis Pugh & to his order 

By Jno Knowles carpenter 

By Francis 

By Board [s] from D[aniel] Eng[land] 

By naills 

By ditto 



£ 

5. 

4 
15. 

1. 
11. 

5. 



1. 



0. 

7. 

10. 

18. 

19. 

4. 

3. 16. 
8. 7. 



2. 
8. 



27. 



3. 

5. 
15. 

2. 
17. 



6 
10 

9% 
6 

41/2 
101/2 

6 

43/4 
10% 
8 
4 

4 



[546] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 



By Boa[rds and] naills 

By /46 c (?)/ 

By 



Ey Edw'd 

By naills 

By Boards & naills 

By ditto 

By Jno Jones carpenter 

By Jno 

By Th 

ByGe 

By Lap ( ?) 

By Edward 

By cash lock 

By John 

By Wm 

12 mo. 12. 1713/4 



1. 


11. 


21/2 


1. 


14. 


6 


1. 


1. 




£103. 


17. 


10 


10. 


4. 






14. 


7 




8. 


8 



[carpe] nter 



6. 


2. 


IIV2 




14. 


8 


6. 


7. 


6 




1. 


9 


6. 


10. 




8. 


2 




10. 


10. 


8 


5. 






£158. 


15. 


2% 


. £. 


s. 


d. 



mo. 14. 
mo. 8, 

mo. 13 



1714. 
1715. 



1713/14. Imo. 12. Dr. John Roberts 
To John Rob'ts cash [sub] scription 1 1. 

To Robt lloyd 9. 9 

To cash of his son being 7. 6 

To David Harry for 2 

years interest 
To Wm ***** [in- 
terest on] Bond 4. 
To Rees Wms acct for do 

2 yrs int 5. 

To Matthew Rob'ts acct 2. 2. 
22. To David Price acet 2. 0. 1 
To Jane Bedward Husbands 

legacy 2. 

1716/17. 12mo. 2. To Row'd Ellis 1. 

21. 15. 4 



— 4mo. 3. 
1715/16. 12mo 
1716. 6mo. 9. 



[547] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

1717. 4mo. 10. Ball without or beyond in- 
terest to Jno Rob'ts 
by the above acct 4. 7. 



£26. 


2. 


4 


1713/14. 12mo. 12. Cr. 








By Ball of our acct settled then as by the 








other side 


16. 


16. 


91/4 


1714. 2mo. 7. By Edw'd Jones Jun'r for 








[B]all acct 


1, 


4. 




By Evan Owen for [Bal]l 








acct 




15. 




By Jno Jones acct ca[sh in] 








full 




10. 


91/2 


By John Moore acct 




16. 




7mo. 4. By Daniel England for 








boards 


1. 


15. 




9mo. 2. By Owen Rogers acct 


1. 


3. 


4 


By Moses [Roberts] for 








Tho Ball 




3. 


6 


By Tho Pugh in full 




5. 


1 


lOmo. 15. By naills 11 1/2 lb @ lOd pr 




9. 


7 


1714/5. llmo. 15. By 2 lb do at 9d pr 




1. 


6 


1715. 6mo. 20. By 11 lb naills 




8. 


3 


6mo. 27. By 193 foot boards 




15. 


6 


1716/7. Imo. 30. By Josiah Lawrence 




18. 





£26. 2. 334 

"Memorandum to Enquire if there is not 1. 0. lid. of 
Jno. Rob'ts subscription not paid towards the interest." 

It appears from the following entries in the minutes of 
the Radnor monthly meeting that the Merion meeting called 
in its loans to be used in paying its building bills. 

1713, 3. 8mo. "Merion friends having proposed to have 
some money that was formerly lent to Rees Howell, which 
is £5, old currency, £4 thereof belonging to the Merion 

[548] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

Friends. Also £10 that was lent to Joseph Evans, which is 
now at interest. Monthly Meeting agreed that Merion 
Meeting shall have these sums to be used towards finishing 
their meeting House." 

And from the same minutes, of the Monthly Meeting 
"held at the Merion Meeting House, 12, 9mo. 1713," "Five 
pounds, old currency, formerly lent to Rees Howell, trans- 
ferred to the Merion Meeting, towards finishing their meet- 
ing House. Paid to John Roberts." 

Now, as to the acquisition of the lands where the Mer- 
ion graveyard is located, and where the meeting house 
stands. Briefly, it may be seen from the following abstracts 
from deeds, that the deed for the oldest portion of the grave- 
yard was dated 20 August, 1695, eleven years after Hugh 
Roberts and Robert David selected a site for the Merion 
burial lot, and that the deed for the meeting house lot was 
dated 20 March, 1714, twenty-five or more years after the 
erection of the stone meeting house was begun, and appar- 
ently in the year it was finished and paid for. 

Exemplification deed, dated 20, 6mo. 1695, (Phila. Co. 
Book VII, p. 156). 

"Edward Rees, of the Welsh Tract, yeoman," for five 
shillings, sold and conveyed to Robert Owen, Edward Jones, 
Cadwalader Morgan, and Thomas Jones, all of Merion, "in 
trust for the use of the Merion preparative meeting," "one- 
half acre and six square perches of Land," thus described, 

"Running, Westward, by Hugh Roberts's land, IIV2 
perches; Southward, by the said Edward Rees's land, 7 
perches, and about 12 feet ; Eastward, by the same land of 
Edward Rees, 11 perches, and Northward, by the said 
Edward Jones's land, 71/2 perches. Being a part of said 
Edward Rees's land." 

The grantor gives and guarantees "free liberty of ingress, 
egress and regress in, to, and from said piece of ground," 
and stipulated that it is to be only "to the use of the people 
of God, called in scorne Quakers, who are members of the 
Haverford monthly meeting in the Welsh Tract, for only 

[549] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

a burying place, and for no other use whatsoever." Witness 
to the signature of Edward Rees, who marked E R, were 
John Roberts, Robert Jones, David Hugh, and Griffith John. 
This deed acknowledged in open court, Philadelphia, 11 
Dec. 1697, Recorded 6. 2mo. (April) , 1698. 

It may be noticed from this description, that there was no 
"road to the ford" at this time, along the north side of the 
"old graveyard," and over Hugh Roberts's property. Some- 
time in the last century, ten feet were added to the west end 
of the graveyard from the meeting house lot. 

Some think that the date of this deed, the earliest con- 
nected with the Merlon meeting, is what suggested to the 
meeting trustees of 1829, when they repaired the build- 
ing, to put up the date tablet: BUILT IN 1695. 

It appears by the Monthly Meeting books, that there was 
a graveyard near the Merion Meeting House, which was 
older than the oldest part of its private burial ground. — 
"Rees' Gift," as there are entries of burials, stating that 
certain intemients were made in '"the ould grave yard, 
Owen Roberts." This as late as in 1716. And, that before 
1700, there are entries of removals of bodies "from ye ould 
grave yard, Owen Roberts," to the grounds now used. 

This "ould grave yard" is a mysteiy now. It may have 
been either a private burial lot on his father's, Hugh 
Roberts, and subsequently his plantation, which they per- 
mitted outsiders to use, and from which all bodies were 
eventually removed, because the Roberts' deeds never men- 
tion any lot reserved for a graveyard, as was the custom. 
This, Owen Roberts, 1677-1733, was the Friends' minister's 
third child, and the land he received from his father, with 
a dwelling house, lay along the "road to the ford," and 
near the meeting house, and adjoined Rees' land. 

Or, this may have been the site for the Merion Meeting's 
graveyard selected by Hugh Roberts, in 1684, and it was 
abandoned, and reverted to the Roberts estate, when Rees 
gave land more advantageously situated for Merion's grave- 
yard, which is presumed by many to have been the spot 

[550] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

■where he buried his child in 1682 (but unfortunately for 
this idea, Rees did not own this land till in 1691, and if there 
was an old graveyard here it most likely belong to Dr. 
Jones), and was the reason for the expression in the "1714 
deed," hereafter, "beginning at the northwestermost part of 
the old graveyard," else, how account for this expression, 
if there was only one graveyard? This site certainly be- 
came the most desirable in the township for the Meeting 
House, as it is near four highways. Yet, from the wording 
of Rees' deed, there v/as no probability of such an advan- 
tage. 

Here follows an abstract of the earliest deed, conveying 
by the retiring trustees, to the trustees of the Merion meet- 
ing, the lot on which they had built their stone meeting 
house, recently completed. 

There was an indenture of the usual lease for one year, 
dated 19, Imo. 1714, from Edward Rees, Robert Jones, 
Meredith Davies, and Rees Price, to Edward Jones, Thomas 
Jones, and Robert Roberts, but it was not acknowledged, 
nor recorded. 

In the recorded deed of release, dated 20 March, 1714, of 
"Edward Rees, Robert Jones, Meredith Davies, of Ply- 
mouth tov/nship, and Rees Prees (or Price), son and heir 
apparent of said Edward Rees," [the trustees of the Merion 
preparative meeting], to "Edward Jones, Thomas Jones, 
Robert Roberts, son and heir apparent of John Roberts, 
m.altster, the trustees appointed by the meeting," the con- 
sideration being "£3, of lawful money of America," the 
land thus conveyed is described: 

"Beginning at the North Westernmost part of the old 
Grave Yard, thence South 80°, West 14 V2 perches, to a cor- 
ner stone; thence South 58°, East by line dividing the Meet- 
ing House Land from other Land of the said Edward 
Rees, 28 perches, to a corner Black oak tree, by the line 
dividing the aforesaid Meeting House Land from the Land 
of Robert Jones; thence North 14°, West to the said Grave 
Yard Pales, 11 perches; thence West 85°, along the said 

[551] 



WEI^H SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Pales 5 1-3 perches; thence North 15°, West by the end of 
the said Grave Yard, 7% perches to the beginning. Con- 
taining % of an acre and 23 square perches of Land, and 
originally part of the tract of said Edward Rees." Wit- 
nesses, Rowland Ellis, Griffith Robert, Moses Roberts, Wil- 
liam Walter, David Jones, and Jonathan Cockshaw. This 
deed was not recorded till 2 May, 1746, by Robert Jones 
and Rees Price, the survivors of the grantors. (Phila. Bk. 
G. VIL fo. 131.) 

At what date, after 1695, this irregularly shaped lot was 
conveyed by Edward Rees to the trustees, is unknown at 
this writing. Including the graveyard, at this time the land 
of the meeting formed an isosceles triangle. By there com- 
ing to be two highways intersecting on the west end of 
Dr. Jones' property, namely, "the road to the ford" in the 
Schuylkill, (now called Meeting House Lane), between the 
lands of Dr. Jones and Hugh Roberts, and another, long 
only known as "a settled road," subsequently the Lancaster 
Road, (now Montgomery Ave.), between Dr. Jones's prop- 
erty and some of Edward Rees's, a sharp, narrow point of 
land was formed, and of the tip of this, Edward Rees 
bought about two acres, in 1691, which purchase is men- 
tioned in the confirmation patent to him in 1704. Prob- 
ably, Mr. Rees had a definite idea when he bought this point 
what he was going to do with it, for in 1695, we have seen 
that he conveyed about 86 square pei^ches of it to the 
Merion meeting for a graveyard, and probably the lease, or 
refusal, or option, or even the title in fee, on 143 square 
perches for the site of the new stone meeting house. The 
remaining land, about 139 square perches he had conveyed 
to Robert Jones, J.P., (a son of John ap Thomas), in 1709. 

It is from the fact that Edward Rees was the grantee for 
this point of land in 1691, that it is presumed the foundation 
of the stone meeting house was begun about that year, 
under some understanding with Mr. Rees about the lot. 
There was nothing at any time to prevent the Merion 
Friends building their meeting house of stone at that time, 

[552] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

even if they did not finish it till in 1714. There was an abun- 
dance of stone in the neighborhood, the same it was built 
of. And it certainly was substantially built, of well selected 
stone, and adhering cement. Its stone walls are two feet 
through, standing 14 feet to the over-hanging roof. The 
length of the building being 36 feet, with the southwest 
part, or the nave, 20 by 24 feet. The master-builder was 
the architect, but his name has not been preserved in con- 
nection with this building. 

By these two deeds, it may be seen that the Merion 
meeting now owned, in the graveyard i/o acre and 6 perches, 
and in the house lot % acre and 23 perches. The balance of 
the point, "about one acre," as said, Rees sold to Robert 
Jones. The irregularity of the "consideration," is notable, 
as it was, in 1695, five shillings for half of an acre; three 
pounds, in 1714, for three-quarters of an acre, and one 
pound in 1709, for "one acre," which is the lot now occu- 
pied by the General Wayne tavern. 

The next transfer of the Merion meeting house and lot, 
from trustees to trustees of this Meeting, was in 1747, 
thirty-three years after the finishing of the meeting house. 
This was done, by deed dated 18. 3mo. 1747, which was 
recorded at Philadelphia, 12 Dec. 1748. (Deed Book D, XV. 
fo. 327). Robert Roberts, of Merion, being the only sur- 
vivor of the trustees acting on 20 March, 1714, by this 
instrument, conveyed, (his wife, Sydney Roberts, joining in 
the deed), the lot on which the meeting house stands in fee 
to the newly appointed trustees, namely James Jones, of 
Blockley, Robert Jones, of Merion, and John Roberts, of 
Merion, miller. The lot was described as follows : "Begin- 
ning at the Northwardmost corner of the Grave Yard, 
thence South 79° 30', West 14 1^ perches, to a corner stone; 
thence South 57°, East 28 perches, to a corner; thence 
North 14°, 30', West 11 perches and 2 feet; thence South 
851/2°, 51/2 perches ; thence North 15°, West 7 perches and 13 
feet to beginning. Containing % of an acre and 24 perches, 
being part of land formerly in possession of Edward Rees." 

[553] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

This description was probably from a new, recent survey, 
as this one does not correspond with that of 1714, and was 
one square perch less. 

In 1763, Mr. Joseph Tunes gave the Merion Preparative 
Meeting about 6162 square feet of land, adjoining the 
graveyard land given, in 1695, by Edward Rees, on its east 
end. He gave it "for a burying place for indigent Friends 
of this meeting, and for others who were approved by the 
Merion Preparative Meeting."* This deed of gift, dated 
1 Dec. 1763, recorded 7 Jan. following, was from "Joseph 
Tunes, of Lower Merion tp." "to Edward Price, yeoman, 
and John Roberts, miller, both of Lower Merion tp., and 
David George, yeoman, of Blockley tp., trustees." This 
gift lot was described: — "Beginning at the Northermost 
corner of the graveyard wall, thence by the said wall, South 
17°, East 7'"/4, perches, to the Southeast corner thereof; 
thence by the land of said Joseph Tunes, North 78°, East 3 
perches, to a corner stone; thence North 17°, West 7% 
perches, to another corner stone, on the South side of the 
Road, leading to the ford in Schuylkill river ; thence by the 
said road. South 78°, West 3 perches, to the beginning." 
"Containing 23 square perches of land." Consideration, 
five shillings. "The trustees must have this ground walled, 
or fenced, and they and their successors to keep said wall 
in repair." Witnesses to the deed, James Jones, James 
Moore, and Abraham Tunes. 

This lot was a portion of the inherited farm John 
Jones, (youngest son of Dr. Edward Jones, deceased), and 
his wife Mary, conveyed by a deed dated 15 Oct. 1741, "to 
Anthony Tunes, late of Germantown," for £812, Pensyl- 
vania money, described, beginning at a white oak corner, in 
the line of John Roberts, thence by the land of Hugh Evans, 
N. 67°, E. 165 per., thence N.W. 48 per., thence N. 70°, E. 40 



*In earlier days, the Merion Friends were not so particular in sepa- 
rating the rich from the poor, as "John Morgan, a poor man, and a 
charge to ye Township," was buried in the regular ground of Merion 
Meeting, in 1718. 

[554] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

per. to a white oak; thence S.E. 52 per., (the three last men- 
tioned courses running by Rees Price's ten acres of meadoWj 
called "Clean John") ; thence by said Hugh Evans land, N, 
68°, E. 88 per., thence by Richard George's land, N. 66°, E. 
173 per., thence partly by said Richard George's land, and 
land of Thomas Davids, N. 33°, 79 per., thence by said 
Thomas Davids' land, S. 75°, W. 97 per., thence N. 25°, W. 
60 per., thence N. 80°, E. 4 per., thence by Rees Price's land 
N. 15°, W. 24 per., to the Road ; thence along the same Roads 
dividing this land from land of Edward Price, S. 78°, W» 
141 per., to the Meeting House ground ; thence by the sam.e 
S. 15°, E. 36 per. and % ; thence by the Road to Haverford, 
S. 72°, W. 76 per., thence by Rees Price's land, S. 25°, E. m 
per., thence S. 70°, W. 158 per., to a corner chestnut tree; 
thence S. 20°, E. 37 per., thence by land of John Roberts, S. 
25°, 39 per., S. 39°, E. 22 per., S. 41°, E. 20 per., S. 26°, E. 
16 per., and S. 7°, E. 12 per. to beginning. In all 402 acres 
and 142 perches of land, late the estate of Dr. Edward 
Jones. 

Mr. Tunis resided on this property till his death, 20. 5mQ. 
1762. He married at the Merion Meeting, 5 Dec. 1718, 
Mary, daughter of John Williams, and had nine childreHj 
whose births are recorded at this meeting. (For an ac- 
count of some of his descendants, see Jordan's "Colonial 
Families of Philadelphia," p. 1556). 

Mr. Tunis' second son, Joseph Tunis, 1736-1773, inher- 
ited land from his father, and conveyed, by deed of 1 April, 
1768, some of it, adjoining the Merion Meeting land, to Rob- 
ert Holland, a tanner, who by deed dated 25 Oct. 1785, con- 
veyed 40 acres of the same to Joseph Price, a carpenter, 
which was bounded: — Beginning at a stone by a black oak 
tree on the south side of the Lancaster road, and on the 
west side of a road leading to Darby, thence by side of said 
Darby road So. 8°, W. 23% per., to a corner stone by said 
road ; thence by land now of John Dickinson, So. 70°, W. 226 
per., to a corner stone ; thence by land of John Price, N.W. 
14 4/10 perches, to a corner stone; thence No. 70°, East, 

[555] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

MlYo per., to another corner stone; thence by same No. 25°, 
W. 31 per., to a stone in middle of the road leading to 
Haverford; thence along said road No. 72°, East 76 per., 
to a stone ; thence by Meeting House land, so called, No. 15°, 
8 per., to a side of Lancaster road, and thence by said road 
So. 54°, 41 per. to beginning.* 

The next transfer of the property of the Merion Meet- 
ing from its old trustees to the new ones, was by deed dated 
26 Jan. 1786. (Recorded 2 May, 1786, in Phila. Deed Book 
G. X, fo. 334). By this deed, "Edward Jones, of Philadel- 
phia, James Jones, of Lower Merion tp., Edward Price, of 
Lower Merion tp., and David George, of Blockley tp.," 
transferred the three small, adjoining lots, [that of the old 
graveyai'd, (Rees' gift), the one the meeting house stands 
on, and the lot presented by Mr. Tunes,] "to James Jones, 
Jr., Thomas George, and Amos George, all of Philadelphia, 
and Jehu Roberts, of Montgomery county." The descrip- 
tions of these lots in this deed differ from former outlines. 

1. "Beginning and running Westward by the Land of 
Hugh Roberts, ll^^ perches. Southward, by the land of 
Edward Rees, 7 perches and 12 feet, and Eastward, by the 
land of the same, 71/2 perches." "Containing V2 acre and 6 
perches." "By deed dated 20, 6mo. 1695. Recorded 
in Deed Book E. IH. vol. 5, page 5." (This deed book is 
in the Philadelphia Recorder's office, but this deed is not 
copied into it. It is given in the office index as on "page 
115," but it is not there. It was found in Exemplification 
Book No. 7, p. 156) . "This land was conveyed by this deed, 
by said Edward Rees, unto Robert Owen, Edward Jones, 
Cadwalader Morgan, and Thomas Jones, trustees of the 



*John Price, aforesaid, devised by will, 16 May, 1792, to his three 
daughters each one acre of land on the end of his plantation, and on 
the Lancaster Road, and to his son, Edward Price, he devised five 
acres on the Lancaster Road, and to his brother-in-law, Robert 
Holland, he gave a life interest in two acres, on the west end of his 
plantation, and the balance of his estate he left to Joseph and John 
Price. 

[556] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

Merion Meeting, in fee. All being deceased, and the title 
being in Jonathan Jones, (son and heir to said Edward 
Jones, the survivor of the said trustees of 1695), and the 
said Jonathan Jones also being deceased, and his estate 
being vested in his son and heir, Edward Jones, the first 
named party to this current deed." 

2. "Beginning at the Northward corner of the graveyard, 
thence South 79°, West 14Y> perches, to a stone; thence 
South 57°, East 28 perches, to a corner; thence North 14", 
West 11 perches and 2 feet; thence South 85°, SVa perches; 
thence North 15°, West 7 perches and 13 feet, to beginning." 
"Containing % of an acre and 24 perches." "Which lot, by 
deed dated 18. 3mo. 1747, (recorded in Book G. 10., fo. 
334), was conveyed by Robert Roberts to the said James 
Jones, (a party to this 1786 deed), Robert Jones, and John 
Roberts, in fee. The said Robert Jones and John Roberts 
being deceased, and the estate hath survived in the said 
James Jones." 

3. And of the other, remaining small lot: — "Beginning at 
the Northward corner of the grave yard wall, thence by 
the said wall. South 17°, East 7% perches, to the South 
East corner of the same wall ; thence by Joseph Tunes's 
land," &c, being the conveyance of 23 perches of land from 
Joseph Tunis, by deed 1 Dec. 1763. 

These three parcels of land were resurveyed 28. lOmo. 
1783, and found together as follows: — "Beginning at the 
North corner of the land conveyed by Joseph Tunis for use 
of a grave yard, thence along the Road from a ford in the 
Schuylkill to the Lancaster Road, by the grave yard and the 
Meeting House ground, South 76°, 15', West 28 85/100 
perches to a stone in said Lancaster Road ; thence down said 
Road, South 52°, East 28 8/10 perches, to a stone in the 
Road; thence North 18°, West 11 7/10 perches, to a stone 
marked in the grave yard wall ; thence along said wall, and 
the land conveyed as above by Joseph Tunis, North 77°, 

[557] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

East 8 9/10 perches, to corner thereof; thence along the 
line of John Dickinson, North 19°, West 7 75/100 perches 
to beginning." "Containing 1% acres and 16 perches." 

John Dickinson, of Wilmington, Delaware, conveyed, in 
trust to Messrs. Paul Jones and David Roberts, of Lower 
Merion tp., and Edward George and Joseph George, of 
Blockley tp., for the use of the Merion Preparative Meet- 
ing, by deed of gift dated 21. llmo. 1801, about one acre, 
bounded as follows : — "Beginning at a stone in the old Lan- 
caster road, in the line of Mary Streaper's land, thence by 
her land N. 19°, W. 15% perches to the S.E. corner of the 
wall of the old grave yard ; thence by a lot of ground, con- 
veyed for the use of a burying place by Joseph Tunis, 
deceased, N. 71°, E. 3 perches, to a stone being a corner 
thereof; thence by said ground N. 19°, W. 7% perches, to 
a stone on South side of a road leading to a ford in river 
Schuylkill; thence by said road N. 76°, E. 3 8/10 perches, 
to a stake in said road, being a corner of other land of the 
said John Dickinson; thence by his land S. 19°. 31 perches, 
to a stake in Lancaster I'oad, and thence up said road N. 
58°, W. 11 perches to place of beginning." 

By deed, dated 4. lOmo. 1804, and recorded 10 Sep. 1807, 
John Dickinson conveyed to the aforesaid trustees, about 
one acre of land, adjoining the above land, described: — 
■"Beginning at a stone in Lancaster Road, a corner of the 
land lately conveyed to the Merion Meeting by the said John 
Dickinson, thence by said ground N. 19°, W. 31 perches, to 
a stake on south side of a public road leading to a ford in 
the river Schuylkill; thence down said road N. 76°, E. 
4 7/10 perches, to a stone, the corner of other land of said 
J. D., thence S. 19°, East by said land 37% perches, to a 
stone in Lancaster road; thence up said road N. 58°, W. 
8 5/10 per. to beginning." 

The next transfer between trustees was in 1817, when 
James Jones, Jr., and John Roberts conveyed the property 
of the Merion preparative meeting to Paul Jones, David 
Roberts, Edward George, and Joseph George. Deed proved 

[558] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

16 June, 1877, recorded at Norristown, (Deed Book, 238, fo. 
186). This deed mentions the change of jurisdiction over 
this meeting from Haverford Mo. Mtg. to Radnor Mo. Mtg. 

There was no other transfer of the Merion Meeting prop- 
erty till 28, 3mo. 1846, when the retiring and surviving 
trustees conveyed the property as held in 1786, to the new 
trustees. It was forty years after this when the property 
was next transferred between trustees. 

By deed dated 7 April, 1886, Arthur Moore, and the sur- 
viving trustees, Edward R. Price, John M. George, and 
James L. Paiste, to new trustees, viz. Edward R. Price, 
John M. George, Robert M. Janney, Alfred Moore, Edmund 
Webster, J. Roberts Foulke, George W. Hancock, and How- 
ard W. Lippincott. The two lots of land received from 
John Dickinson are each described in this deed, and land 
adjoining as follows : — "Beginning at the North West cor- 
ner of the land conveyed to the Meeting by Joseph Tunis for 
a grave yard, thence along the Road to the ford in Schuyl- 
kill; thence to the Lancaster Road, (by the grave yard and 
the Meeting House ground) , South 76°, West 28 perches and 
a little more, to a stone in the Lancaster Road ; thence down 
this Road South 82°, East 28 perches, and a little more, to a 
stone in the Lancaster Road; thence North 18°, West 11 
perches, and a fraction, to a stone in the Grave Yard Wall ; 
thence along said wall, and the land conveyed by Joseph 
Tunis, North 77°, East 8 perches and a fraction, to the cor- 
ner thereof, and thence along the line of John Dickinson, 
North 19°, West 7 perches, and a little more, to the begin- 
ning." "13/i acre and 16 perches of land." Recorded 4 
Sep. 1886. 



[559] 



MERION, HA VERFORD, RADNOR 

There have been some changes at the Merion Meeting 
House since its early days. The stable used by the first 
settlers has long ago been done away with. It may be seen 
by the deed of Edward Rees to Robert Jones, dated 23. 2mo. 
1709, conveying to him the lot where he built his residence, 
and where the Gen. Wayne Inn now stands, that this stable 
stood at the southeast corner of the ground Edward Rees 
gave to the meeting in 1695, exclusively for a graveyard. 
According to a deed mentioned elsewhere, this "meeting 
house stable" was in existence as late as 1768. It may be 
that the first meeting house for Merion Friends stood near 
this stable, in and before 1695, rather than "just to the 
east of the present stone meeting house." This latter 
impression arose from the discovery that at some early 
period there was a wide gateway in the north wall of the 
oldest part of the graveyard, east of, and near the meeting 
house. It may be, that here was a driveway through the 
graveyard to the stable, and the presumed log-built meet- 
ing house. 

The roof and chimney of a house which appear beyond 
the horse-shed, in Sutclifi'e's picture of the Merion meeting 
house, belonged to the school house of the Merion Friends, 
which has also disappeared. For many years it was the 
only school house in Lower Merion tp., and stood in a field, 
back of the meeting house, and across Meeting House Lane, 
the "road to the Ford." Some old desks and benches are 
stored on the upper floor of the meeting house, which for 
sometime was also used as a school room. On some of the 
desks may be seen their initials cut by pupils of long ago, as 
"W N 1711," and "D R IV 1802." For years, it is notorious 
that "schooling" was the simplest, elemental, and that there 
were no "school books," and all instruction was oral, and 
this prevailed till after the Revolutionary War. 

[561] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

As to this old school house, there is a deed of gift dated 
1 Dec. 1747, acknowledged 12 Jan. 1765, and recorded 10 
Feb. 1770, which tells that Rees Price and his son, Edward 
Price, conveyed to Richard George, Evan Jones, and John 
Roberts, for five shillings, a lot, 50 by 40 feet, or 2000 
square feet, located "by estimate thirty feet North from the 
Meeting House land." This lot was to be "used only to 
erect thereon a house, or houses for a school, for such as 
shall contribute towards building the same, and to such 
others as the contributors shall approve of." Witnesses to 
this deed were Hugh Evans and John Price. 

A memorandum attached says: — That the master, with 
the scholars that shall from time to time, and at all times 
forever, belong to the school intended to be kept on the 
above granted premises, have privilege of ingress and^egress 
from said land to a spring of water, near said granted 
ground, on the land of the said Rees and Edward Price, and 
thereof to satisfy and quench their thirst. Provided always, 
that if said Rees and Edward Price shall have occasion to 
build a house over the said spring, then the said master and 
scholars are hereby privileged and allowed of going lower 
down the streams issuing from the said spring, to quench 
their thirst, but never more than fifty perches from the said 
spring. 

Filed with this deed is the following "List of the Con- 
tributors towards Erecting a School House on the within 
Granted piece of Ground, with their respective Subscrip- 
tions." The largest contribution was from Evan Jones, 
whose legacy and subscription amounted to seven pounds. 
John Price, Gerrard Jones, David Davis, and John Roberts, 
the miller, each gave five pounds. John Roberts, the car- 
penter, "surveyed the ground, and writing ye deed, with his 
subscription in three pounds," gave a total of four pounds. 
Then John George gave £3. 10. 0, John Righter £3. 6. 2, 
and the following each contributed three pounds, Sarah 
Jones, Anthony Levering, Hugh Evans, Richard George, 
Thomas David, and Robert Roberts, the cooper. Hannah 

[662] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

Williams gave £2. 10. 0, Robert Jones contributed forty 
bushels of lime, estimated at £2. 3. 4, and the following each 
gave two pounds, Peter Becket, Lewis Jones, Edward Jones, 
Owen Jones, Jacob Jones, Daniel Williams, Robert Holland, 
and Anthony Tunes. The following each gave £1. 10. 0: 
Abraham Tunes, Lewis Scothern, Hugh Roberts, and John 
Robinson, and John Thomas, the smith, contributed three 
days of carting material amounting to this amount. These 
gave one pound: Edward Williams, John Roberts, Jr., Amos 
Moore, and Robert Wood, while Edward Roberts, Jr., sub- 
scribed only ten shillings. The Preparative Meeting still 
owns this lot but is never mentioned in the trustees' deeds. 
Another early school house in this neighborhood is 
referred to in a deed of Joseph Price, dated 22 Sep. 1804, 
conveying five acres of land (bought at sheriff's sale 15 Feb. 
1803), and a log messuage, or tenement, adjoining the lands 
of Owen Roberts, William Holget, and William Fritz, from 
which he reserved five squares of land, on which a school 
house is built, to the use of said school house forever. 

In the Liberties, near by, were two other school houses 
of early times. One stood on the west side of the old Lan- 
caster Road, below the City Line. It was called the Penn 
School, and disappeared many years ago. The other was 
at Jefferson and 57th streets, which became the meeting 
house of the Orthodox Friends from Merion meeting in 
1829. 

We have seen that in 1801, and in 1804, John Dickinson 
gave the Merion Preparative Meeting two small lots, adjoin- 
ing the graveyard, one was to increase its size; the other 
was for the site of the dwelling for the caretaker of the 
meeting house and grounds. This lot is still used for that 
purpose, and the stone cottage stands on Montgomery 
Ave., opposite Haverford and Merion Ave. The subscription 
paper giving the names of those who contributed cash 
towards defraying the expense of erecting "the stone 
house, 26 by 18 feet, to cost not less than $800," gives, 
possibly, the roll of membership of Merion Meeting 

[563] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

m 1804. The trustees at that time were Messrs. 
Paul Jones, Edward George, David Roberts, and Joseph 
George. They superintended the work. Those who 
contributed $50: — James Jones, Richard Jones, Thomas 
George, and David Roberts; $40, David Jones; $30, Paul 
Jones, Rees Price, Jon. Robinson, and Owen Jones; $27, 
Jacob Jones ; $20, Giles Jones, Abel Thomas, Joseph George, 
John Holdgate, Lloyd Jones, and Mary Price; $15, James 
Jones, Thomas George and Edward George; $12, Elizabeth 
George; $10, Rebecca Price, Hannah Williams, Rebecca 
George, R. and H. Mcllvaine, A. and M. Jones, Thomas 
Gavery, George Aston and David Jones; $8, Margaret 
Cochran, Mary Jones, Ann Jones, Lewis Jones, John Hall, 
Paul Jones and Lloyd Jones. Some of these increased their 
original subscriptions subsequently. Among the smaller 
contributors were Joseph Hayes, David Evans, Nathan 
Evans, Isaac Hayes, Israel Morris, Elizabeth Rively, Levi 
Lukens, Marsella Alloway, Charles Jones, Ann Jones, Wil- 
liam Hayes, Phebe Hoffman, Jane Walter, Isaac Price, and 
Thomas Price, "by hailing logs to saw mill for pail fence." 
Whenever possible, it has been the custom of Friends to 
build a stone wall around their graveyards, and in reading 
some of the old deeds for land abutting on the Merion Meet- 
ing property, we have seen "the graveyard wall" was fre- 
quently a bound, and this was the stone wall there now. 
But from the "1714 deed" for the land on which the meet- 
ing house stands, and from the minutes of the Merion 
Men's Meeting, we learn that it had a predecessor, "the 
graveyard pales." It may be presumed the paling fence 
was erected around the graveyard as soon as the land was 
acquired, even before deed was passed for it, and that it 
had become old by 1703, as in the minutes of the Merion 
Men's Meeting, 3. 10. 1703, it was "ordered, John Roberts 
to gett someone to secure the grave yard pales," and, 7. 
llmo. (Jan.) 1703-4, although bad weather for it, John 
Roberts, the treasurer, "had the pales fixed," and 
so reported, and that he had "paid 5 shillings for mending 

[564] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

them, and 12 shillings for nails," and had previously paid 
14s. 6d. and had in the treasury £1. 11. 6. He complained 
"some have not paid their subscriptions towards the meet- 
ing house," so it was "ordered they be spoken to." 

Pales seemed to be good enough protection till Edward 
Rees, by his will, 25. 9. 1727, gave the Merion Meeting £10 
to be used in erecting a stone wall around the graveyard. 
This started a fund, quickly raised, and the stone wall was 
built in 1730, around the "Rees grave yard." But it was 
not until in 1809, that the stone wall was put up about the 
gift of lands of Tunes and Dickinson, 357 feet, costing $242. 
According to minutes, the stone wall has been expensive, 
and had to be frequently repaired and rebuilt, and especially 
when the grade of Lancaster road was changed. In 1809, 
the old wall cost $169.78, and in the itemized bill is a charge 
of "101 wrought nails @ 10c, $10.10." On 2. 3mo. 1848, 
"ordered to pay John M. George, treasurer," "to repair the 
graveyard wall," $280. And again on 10. 2mo. 1859, 
Edward H. Dickinson, treasurer, was paid "for defraying 
expenses of repairing the graveyard wall and other prop- 
erty here," $167. On 8. Imo. 1849, $253.92V2 was raised 
by subscription, and the receiving vault was built below 
the surface of the lot, at the S.E. corner of the Merion 
Meeting House. The iron railing about the vault has dis- 
appeared. 

Although the property of Merion Preparative Meeting 
passed in 1827-8, and so remains, into the control of the 
so styled "Hicksite Friends," both branches of the Society 
of Friends bury their dead in the graveyard of this meeting. 

The burial records of the Merion Meeting have been 
fairly well kept since 1705, and I have had occasion in vari- 
ous instances to go to them for data. There are not many 
unusual items in these records, and some of them I have 
noticed elsewhere. Recorded is the burial of the "Dutch 
woman," no name given, who was poisoned in 1756; Jacob 
Thomas, who was killed by a wagon of stone passing over 
his head, in 1807, and the half dozen men killed in the 

[565] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

powder mill. The remaining entry of this class was the 
burial, 11. 4. 1749, of "one Donelson, killed by the Fall of a 
Tresal [at] John Robert Matthew's plantation." John 
Robert Matthew was an early Welsh settler in Merion. He 
buried his son, Matthew, at the Merion Meeting, 9mo. 6. 
1713, his daughter, Susannah, was accidentally drowned, so 
the record says, without particulars, and was buried here, 
4, 6. 1748. Dr. Edward Jones had a servant who was 
burned to death, and buried here, in 1717. Many servants 
were buried at Merion, some of them negroes,* but mostly 
German people, who thus seemed to have been the favorite 
servants. Some entries of deaths are recorded in the Merion 
book, but the interments were at Haverford, or Radnor. 

It may be seen from the following lists from the records 
of the surnames of people buried at the Merion meeting 
house, from the year 1705, that there were few Welsh 
names, and that this meeting had ceased to be purely one 
of Welsh Friends twenty-five years after its foundation, 
and suggests the quick assimilation of the Welsh and 
English families. 



*As said elsewhere, Negroes were held and worked as slaves by the 
Welsh Friends as well as by the English, and in no extant records of 
the Welsh Friends does it appear that the Welsh were in any way in- 
fluenced against the "perniciousness of slavery" by the protests of the 
newly convinced German Friends, therefore, it appears there never was 
any concerted movement among them to abolish "traffick of men-body." 
The German Friends have the credit of making the first formal pro- 
test, in a document still extant, presumed to have been written by 
Pastorius, addressed, "This is to ye monthly meeting held at Richard 
Worrell's." It sets forth the "reasons why we are against the traffick 
of men-body." The argument being the old "golden rule," or "how'd 
you like it yourself, if you, or your children were carried off, and 
kept in bondage." It claimed that all Europeans "are astonished when 
they hear off that ye Quakers doe here handel men as they handel 
there ye cattle." It is dated and signed: — "This is from our meeting 
at Germantown, held ye 18 of ye 2 month, 1688, to be delivered to the 
Monthly Meeting at Richard Worrell's." Signed by "Garret hende- 
ricks, derick up de graeff, Francis daniell Pastorius, Abraham up 
Den graeff." 

[566] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 



Armstrong. 


Hodnet. 


Pratt. 


Amos. 


Holland. 


Quinn. 


Apty. 


Henby. 


Rakestraw, 


Be van. 


Hover. 


Robeson. 


Beringer. 


Holgate. 


Robinson. 


Bossard. 


Hendricks. 


Robison. 


Bomen (Bowman?) 


Judgles. 


Rogerson. 


Balort. 


Jordan. 


Rodgers. 


Bedford. 


John. 


Righter. 


Crockson. 


Kite. 


Reese. 


Camberlin. 


King. 


Rewalt. 


Creakbeam. 


Knowles. 


Roman. 


Conlin. 


Lewis. 


Russel. 


Chapman. 


Lloyd. ' 


Robenson. 


Coultar. 


Lee. 


Supplee. 


Conrad. 


Levering. 


Scothom. 


Comley. 


Latch. 


Sherrel. 


Cannel. 


Llewelyn. 


Stuard. 


Gamble (Campbell?) 


Loot. 


Sunday. 


Claphamson. 


Morgan. 


Shutz. 


David. 


Mifflin. 


Suitzer. 


Davles. 


More. 


Schible. 


Dodomite. 


Mills. 


Swaim. 


Dyer. 


Musgrove. 


Shiers. 


Eves. 


Matson. 


Stadleman. 


Edward. 


Millar. 


Streaper. 


Edwards. 


Marks. 


Streeper. 


Ellis. 


McKewson. 


Tamplin. 


Firth. 


Manuel. 


Townsley. 


Frame. 


Mares. 


Taylor. 


Francis. 


Miley. 


Vincent. 


Fisher. 


Morris. 


Vandern. 


Griffith. 


Null. 


Wynne. 


Giger. 


Noble. 


Williams. 


Garret. 


Ogleby. 


Warner. 


Harper. 


Owen. 


White. 


Hughes. 


Pugh. 


Walker. 


Hamilton. 


Peters. 


Whitloe. 


Henderson. 


Palmer. 


Winter. 


Humphreys. 


Pollin. 


Ward. 


Hemler. 


Pearne. 


Whitehead. 


Harry. 


Pistorus. 


Webster. 


Hemberger. 


Pearson. 


Winters. 


Hill. 


Perkins. 





[567] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Some of these interments were in "the Strangers's Yard," 
so they were not Friends, or were not members of this 
meeting. Besides other early burials in this yard, men- 
tioned elsewhere, were those of Caleb and Joseph, sons of 
Rowland Richard, buried in 1705, on 1st and 13th, of 5th 
and 6th months; Hugh George on 26. Imo. 1714; Ann 
Walter, on 27. 3mo. 1715 ; Edward Sion, "living late at Mt. 
Ararat," on 3. 8mo. 1715; Moses Roberts, on 22. 12mo. 
1715-6; Catherine, wife of David Thomas, the mason, 4. 
8mo. 1716; and William Shenkin, "aged about 92 years," on 
12. llmo. 1719-20. 

Something has already been told of this graveyard itself, 
but by a ramble through it we have information of people 
who died in the last seventy-five years, from inscribed head- 
stones. 

Passing eastward on the dividing walk, on the right hand 
there is first, what a tablet set into the cemetery wall tells 
is the "Zell Row, 1794-1875," which means that the row of 
graves along the wall, which in recent years was moved 
some yards westward, and divides the graveyard from the 
lawn of the Meeting House, are members of the Zell family, 
and among them is the grave of "Thomas Ellwood Zell, 
1828-1905, A Founder of the Loyal Legion," the society of 
commissioned officers who served in the Civil War, and were 
honorably discharged. Next to the Thompson family's 
graves are twenty-four marked graves of the George family, 
among them that of Jesse George, the well known Philadel- 
phia philanthropist. A long stretch follows of unmarked 
graves, and then there are a few graves of the Leedom fam- 
ily with marble head-stones,* and of the families of Hoff- 
man, Yerkes, Jones, Trimble, Smith, Thomas, Bealer, Lynch, 

*In the minutes of the Concord monthly meeting, held with the 
Chichester meeting, 7. 1. 1729, "whereas, it hath been upon the minds 
of some friends of this meeting to suppress all surperflus practices of 
putting of names and Dates upon Coflfins, and it is the mind of this 
meeting that for the futer friends should decist from all such Idola- 
trous practices". And in the minutes of the same monthly meeting, 
11. 5. 1729, "Agreeable to ye yearly meeting minute relateing to 

[568] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

Lippincott, Hatton, Young, Radcliffe, Du Bree, Carncross, 
Hansell, Dickinson, Pawling, Huntley, Lockwood, Bond, 
Wilson, Etc., 

Returning, on the left side of the walk, are the marked 
graves of Jacobs, Huntley, Jones, Price, Mynick, Leedom, 
Carncross, Hansell, Anderson, McKeever, Harvey, Schlater, 
Jones, Thomas, Brookfield, Wainwright, Ileston, Hall, Rob- 
erts, Zell, Pawling, Evans, Swayne, Sanders, Paiste, Tunis, 
Oress, Hunt, Moore, Huffman, Trasel, and then a long 
stretch of unmarked graves, opposite, on the other side of 
the walk, till the graves of members of the Rutter and 
Brookfield families, and of Jonathan Jones, d. 1821, are 
passed, then comes the "Roberts Row." 

A tablet set into the cemetery wall, along Meeting House 
Lane, has the legend: — "John Roberts / of Lynn, Carnar- 
vonshire / Wales/ was born in 1648/ Died April 6th< 
1724/ and/ his descendants/ are buried opposite/ this tab- 
let/. 1897"/. There are only twelve marked Roberts graves 
here out of the hundred descendants of the immigrant prob- 
ably lying in this locality, or in the graveyard. The earli- 
est grave here marked by an old head-stone, sunken to the 
level of the ground, is that of "John Roberts, Died 1803." 
The new stones m.ark the graves of the following of this 
family: — Algernon, 1751-1815. (He was born 24 Nov. 
1750), a lieutenant colonel. His wife (Tacy Warner, is 
buried next to him) ; Tacy, 1761-1828 ; "Sarah, wife of 
John," 1792-1823; Emily T., 1795-1825; John, 1788-1838; 
Tacy, 1805-1847; Isaac W., 1789-1859; Lydia, 1783-1862; 
Mary L, 1816-1865 ; Gainor, 1791-1868, and William War- 
ner, 1815-1898. 



Tombstones, this meeting appoints ****** to advise with these that 
are concerned in placing Tombstones in order to remove them, and 
make report to ye next meeting". 

Early in the last century, similar opposition to inscribed head- 
stones was so strong in the Merion Meeting that those in sight were 
laid flat on the ground and covered with earth. Last year, in clearing 
up the graveyard, and regrading it, many of these stones were again 
set on end. 

[569] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Among the burials recorded at this meeting as in this 
yard, were, 1803, llmo. 10. "Ann Roberts, (killed by her 
son Titus), aged about 80"; 1803, lOmo. 8. "Titus's grand- 
child, 2 weeks old" ; 1807, 12mo. 29. "Titus Roberts, Died in 
Hospital." He died in an asylum for the insane ; he was a 
nephew of Col. Algernon Roberts. 

Just beyond the Roberts plot, by the walk, in the ground 
added to the graveyard by moving the wall some years ago, 
are the graves of the Levick family, and low marble slabs 
tell that buried here, in 

"Two graves, grass-green," 
are the eminent Friends' minister, 

"Samuel J. Levick / Born 8th month, 30th. 1819 / Died 
4th month, 19th. 1885" 
and his wife, 

"Susanna Morris Levick / Born 8th. month, 2nd. 1819 / 
Died 4th. month, 9th. 1904." 

It may be seen that Mrs. Levick "lived to the good old 
age" of 85 years, and it is remarkable that so many Friends 
who also attained fourscore years and more were buried in 
this yard in recent years. For instance, also in 1904, Tacy 
Ann Jones, aged 85 years, and Paul H. Hoffman, 86 years, 
in 1900, whose grave is decorated on Memorial Day, as he 
was a soldier. In other years, 

1821. Paul Jones, 84. 1874. Samuel Jones, 85. 

1837. Sarah Du Bree, 83. 1877. Mary Jones, 90. 

1843. Mary Tunis, 83. 1878. Elizabeth G. Jones, 77. 

1847. Jane Huntley, 81. 1879. Priscilla Tunis, 88. 

1852. Mary Bond, 81. 1879. Rachel Jones, 88. 

1853. Edward Thompson, 81. 1881. Mary Price, 97. 
1858. Mary Hall Sanders, 84. 1882. Jesse Thomas, 81. 
1862. Lydia Roberts, 79. 1886. Elizabeth Thomas, 84. 

1868. Gainer Roberts, 77. 1888. Lewis Yerkes, 81. 

1869. Rachel Radcliffe, 87. 1890. Joseph Thomas, 84. 

1871. Elizabeth Hansell, 78. 1891. Sarah Thomas, 81. 

1872. Isaac Hansell, 83. 1892. Emily Radcliffe, 76. 

1872. Dr. Joseph Brookfield, 83. 1895. James L. Paiste, 89. 

1873. John Thomas, 87. 1898. Elizabeth Dickinson, 87. 
1873. Jesse George, 88. 1898. William W. Roberts, 83. 

[570J 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

The earliest decipherable stone records of burials are 
those of Philip Huffman, died 17 July, 1789, age 61; 

Edmund Huffman, died , 1793, and Beese Thompson^ 

died 14 July 1799, but in regarding the grounds, and reset- 
ting sunken stones, several older stones were found in 

Dec. 1910, engraved "A S 1783," "H 

S , 1785," and "Jo. ... S 1789." They stand 

three rows from the "Zell Row," but in whose memory they 
were placed is npt known at this writing. However, the 
meeting records, from 1705, give the names of hundreds 
interred here, as John, son of Thomas Jones, 2mo. 12, 1706; 
Catherine, daughter of Thomas Jones, 4mo. 17, 1706 ; Lev/is 
David, Imo. 2, 1707-8; Jane, wife of Cadwalader Morgan, 
7mo. 19, 1710; Jane, wife of John Griffith, 9mo. 18, 1710; 
Felix, son of Edward Jones, 8mo. 9, 1714 ; William Edward, 
lOmo. 31, 1714; John George, lOmo. 31, 1714; Abraham 
Musgrove, llmo. 18, 1714-5 ; Elizabeth, daughter of Robert 
Jones, 4mo. 16, 1715; and daughter of John Griffith, 
6mo. 1715; John Bevan, bachelor, llmo. 13, 1715-6; 
Hugh George, Imo. 26, 1718; Evan Bevan, 5mo. 15, 
1720 ; and so on, as incorporated in genealogy super. Frona 
these records it may seem that many of the original settlers 
of Merion lived there many years, and until the "country 
"lots" had all become productive farms. For instance, Dr. 
Edward Jones lived here fifty-five years; Jane, wife of 
William Edward, for sixty-three years; Robert David for 
fifty years, and Edward Price for forty-six years. 

The earliest extant vital records of the Haverford monthly 
meeting are not uninteresting, aside from genealogical 
value, for they tell that the births, if they were all recorded, 
were not numerous among the members of the meetings 
of Merion, Haverford, and Radnor, for they did not aver- 
age four a year in each of the two oldest meetings in the 
first seventeen years the record was kept, and that there 
were three births to each death, indicating many young 
married couples in these meetings. For instance, 

[571] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

From Merion's record, 1684-1690, seven years : — 

Births, 0. 3. 2. 5. 2. 6. 1. Deaths, 1. 2. 0. 4. 4. 2. 1. 

From Haverford's record, 1684-1690, seven years : — 

Births, 0. 6. 0. 3. 1. 3. 4. Deaths, 0. 3. 1. 1. 2. 0. 3. 

Or, in the same seventeen years, (1684-1700), there were 
64 births, and 39 deaths, in Merion, and 59 births, and 26 
deaths, in Haverford. 

But for some unknown reason, in 1697, there were nine 
deaths of record in Merion meeting, and in same year, only 
one in the Haverford. 

The earliest births of record on the Merion book are 

1682, 9mo. 11. Jane, of Edward and Mabley Rees. 

1683, 8mo. 17. Edward, of Edward and Mary Jones. 
1683, 12mo. 24. Elizabeth, of Hugh and Jane Roberts. 
The earliest burials of record at Merion meeting : — 

1682, 8mo. 23. Katharine, of Edward Rees. 

-- 1682, 9mo. 16. John Watkin. (Not the man of this name, 
in p. 137.) 

1683, 7mo. 29. Sidney Jones. 

" 8mo. 12. Katharine, dau. Robert & Elizabeth David. 

" 8mo. 18. Mary Jones. 

" 9mo. 5. Elizabeth Jones. 

" 9mo. 20. Willia Jones. 

" llmo. 10. Evan John William. 

" Evan Edward. 

In 1702, the entries in the Merion book were in Welsh. 
The earliest burials at the Haverford meeting were 

1684, 9mo. 19. William Sharpless. 

1685, 7mo. 29. Margaret, wife of William Howell. 
" llmo. 9. Gwen, wife of Humphrey Ellis. 

1687, 5mo. 6. Janet, wife of James James. 

George Painter, Thomas John, David Kinsey, and Gobe- 
itliia Humphrey, were also buried here in 1687. 

There were burials at the Radnor meeting from 3. llmo. 
1686, and the first births recorded were: 

1684, 9mo. 12. John, of John and Margaret Jarman. 

1636, 5mo. 20. Sarah, of Stephen and Elizabeth Evans. 

[572] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

There are no very early pictures of the Merion Meeting 
House extant. The sketchy, and near view of the old houses 
made by Hugh Reinagle, in 1829, engraved by J. W. Steel, 
and published by Childs, Philadelphia, 1830, is similar to 
another picture of it, labelled "Premier Temple de Quak- 
ers a Philadelphia," and "Primer Templo de las Cuacros bh 
Filadelfia," "L. Thienon, del., Boiseau, sc." These views 
have frequently been reproduced. An earlier picture, one 
including the General Wayne Inn, and surroundings of the 
meeting house, may be found at page 111, of the printed 
Journal of Robert Sutcliff, 1804-05. These are herein 
reproduced, also copy of a wood-cut made about 1833-4. 

From these early pictures, it may be seen that the meet- 
ing house has not changed in appearance since 1800, and 
that in the earliest sketch extant, it had the T shape, thus 
refuting the statement that it was built into its present 
shape after 1827-8. But by these views, we see that the 
post and rail fence, with the gate along the old Lancaster 
Road, has disappeared, and been replaced by a stone wall. 
Once, a path led from the door of the meeting house straight 
to this stone wall, where there was a stone built horse- 
block. After the grounds were altered to their present 
appearance, and coming to meeting a cheval ceased to be 
necessary, this horse-block of old memories "strolled" up 
the pike, and has rested ever since in front of the old Price 
house. 

It seems singular now to read a notice of the Merion 
Meeting House printed fifty years ago like the following, 
"Merion Meeting House, located in the village of Gen. 
Wayne, at the head of the West Philadelphia Plank Road, 
five miles from Philadelphia. It is a stone building, sur- 
rounded by buttonwood trees. It is built something like 
a letter T. The walls are two feet thick. Its longest length 
is 36 feet. It is 14 feet to the roof, but the end facing the 

[573] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

South West is 24 feet high. Originally, it was stone- 
pointed, or rough stone, but in 1829, when it was repaired, it 
was plastered in imitation of large stones." 

In the early years of the Merion Meeting, it was visited 
by many of the best known Friends' ministers, among them 
John Estaugh, John Richardson, John Salkeld, Thomas Wil- 
son, Thomas Chalkley, and Samuel Bownes, and later, 
before 1740, by Robert Jordan, Mungo Bewley, John Bur- 
ton, Paul Johnson, and Samuel Stephens, and subsequently, 
by Michael Lightfoot, Thomas Gawthrop, Benjamin Trotter, 
Thomas Brown, Jonah Thompson, John Griffith, Samuel 
Fothergill, Joshua Dixon, Samuel Jones Levick, and some 
others. 

It may be supposed that the Friends' minister, John Rich- 
ardson, who sailed from London, and arrived in Maryland, 
5. Imo. 1700-1, visited the meetings in the Welsh Tract, as 
he was intimate with Rowland Ellis, but he did not say so. 
But he records in his book : — "I went to visit a meeting in 
that Part called North Wales, which had not been long 
planted in that Place, where there was a fine, tender People, 
but few understanding English. Rowland Ellis was my 
interpreter. A good meeting it was. Some by interpreter 
expressed their great Satisfaction in our Visit to that meet- 
ing, which heretofore had not been counted as Friends." 
He left America on 6. 9mo. 1702. This item is useful in 
that it confirms what has been said of the Gwynedd settle- 
ment being more decidedly Welsh than the great Welsh 
Tract. 

The Journal of John Fothergill, a traveling minister, on 
Ms second visit to Pensylvania, in 1721, tells, that on 27. 
lOmo., that year, "I went to Hartford where we had a very 
large meeting. And on the 28th, "I went to Radnor where 
was a larger and solidly profitable meeting." And on 29th., 
"to Merion, where a large number was gathered. I went 
that evening to lodge with J. Roberts, where I had a good 
and edifying Session with the old People, many Friends 
also coming there to see us." Next day, he returned to 

[574] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

Philadelphia. And further, in "The Life and Travels of 
John Fothergill," (reprinted and sold by James Chattin, in 
Church Alley, Philadelphia, 1754), on 6. 12mo., 1722, Mr. 
Fothergill says he was "at a General Meeting for Worship 
at Haverford, wherein the Lord's Power shook the Earth in 
many Hearts in divers respects." On the 14th, he was "at 
Lewis Walker's, in the Great Valley, and had a large meet- 
ing out of doors." 

Thomas Chalkley, in his published Journal, says, 4mo. 
5th, 1724, "I went to Merion to visit an ancient friend, John 
Roberts, who was sick near unto death, where I again met 
with John Salgeld. * * * The friend expressed his 
satisfaction in this visit," and died the next day. "He was 
a helper of the poor, and a maker of peace in the neighbor- 
hood." In 5mo. 1725, Mr. Chalkley was at a Merion meet- 
ing, "which was large and solid," and in 2mo. 1726, he 
writes, the meetings of friends of Haverford, Newtown, 
Radnor, and Merion "consist chiefly of ancient Britons, who 
are a religious, industrious, and increasing people." In 
6mo. 1726, he attended "the General Meeting at Haverford," 
and in 9mo. was at a wedding in the Merion meeting house. 
(James Chattin also published Mr. Chalkley's works, in 
1754). 

In 1736, John Fothergill made another visit to Pensyl- 
vania, saying in his Journal, "some exercise having been 
upon me some years to visit the Churches in America once 
more," he came out to a meeting of the ministers and elders, 
at Haverford, on 1st. 12mo., and three days after, he was 
at the Merion meeting. In his Life and Travels, John 
Churchman, a public Friend, of Nottingham, Pa., tells, in 
1736, of visiting Merion meeting, "where we met our worthy 
friend John Fothergill, who had great and good service 
therein." 

According to the Journal of John Woolman, a Friends' 
minister, he visited Merion, Haverford, and Radnor meet- 
ings in 8mo. 1758. And William Reckitt, who travelled 
through America, 1757-9, preaching among Friends, says 

[575] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

that on 12. 4mo. 1759, he attended Radnor meeting, and on 
6th day, following, attended the Merion meeting, and went 
on to Philadelphia. The Journal of Daniel Stanton, a Phil- 
adelphia Friend, records, 3. 2mo. 1766, "After our quar- 
terly meeting in Philadelphia, I sat out from home with sev- 
eral Friends towards Haverford. Lodged that night at 
George Smith's, and was next day at a large meeting at 
Haverford." He then went on to Radnor and Goshen meet- 
ings, which he says were large. From the Journal of San- 
uel Neale, we learn that, on 20. 2d mo., 1772, he visited 
Radnor meeting which "was in a good degree lively, being 
favoured with the running of the heavenly oil." From the 
Journal of Job Scott, a travelling minister from Providence, 
R. I., we learn that on 3d day, 12mo. 1785, he was at Haver- 
ford, "a little meeting," and 5. Imo. 1787, he was at Radnor, 
and on "6th day, 5th, at Merion, the most satisfactory meet- 
ing" he had been at for a long time, and returned to Phil- 
adelphia. 

Edward Peckover, a Friend from London, travelling in 
America, tells in his Journal of his visit to "Miriam Meet- 
ing," in 12mo. 1742-3, and again in 3mo. 1743, and at the 
Haverford monthly meeting. 

The Journal of Esther Palmer, of Rhode Island, a public 
Friend travelling with Susanna Freeborn, says she was at 
Philadelphia, in 9mo. 1704, and "visited the Marion Meeting, 
six miles from town, on a First-day," and that on Third- 
day following, they "went from town, with Joseph Glaisaer, 
to the Harford General Meeting, ten miles from Philadel- 
phia." And in llmo. following, she again attended the meet- 
ings of Merion, Haverford, and Radnor. Her Journal is a 
mere itinerary, generally without remarks. In 1705, "7th 
day of ye month & 6 of ye weeck," she "rode eight miles 
from Jacob Sincock's to the Merion meeting, and returned 
to town." 

In the diary of Robert Sutcliff, a young English Friend, 
which he kept during his sojourn in and about Philadelphia, 
in 1790-1806, there are several interesting items about the 

[576] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

©Id Merion Meeting, for he spent many weeks visiting 
Friends in Merion, while yellow fever was epidemic in the 
city, in 1792-3 and later. Among the people he became ac- 
quainted with there, besides some mentioned below, were 
Peter Andrews, Henry Bowman, Elizabeth Cogshall, Eliza- 
beth Bird, Joseph Paul, Sarah Harrison, the widow George, 
and Mary Price, who was, he says, about eighty years old, 
and always walked to the Merion Meeting House, about a 
mile from her house. He tells, 20. 7mo. 1806, that her 
daughter-in-law (unnamed), "who is a descendant of the 
Lloyds of Dollebran," owned "a deed from Charles Lloyd, 
and a female of the name of Davies, to a person of the name 
of Humphreys." "It was for 5,000 acres [bought] from 
Penn for £100, the same land, were it inclosed, now sells for 
£12 per acre." 

Mr. Sutcliff frequently attended the Friends' Merion 
Meeting, and once visited a great camp meeting of Metho- 
dists near it, which he records was attended by a "great 
number of Negroes, and many of them in handsome car- 
riages." He also attended Friends' Meeting at Radnor, and 
"dined at J. H.'s, and spent the evening at 0. J.'s. This 
Friend was one of those who suffered banishment on account 
of supposed attachment to the British during the revolu- 
tion. His sister [see p. 76] , told me that on William Penn's 
arrival in America, he lodged at her great-grandfather's in 
Merion. At that time her grandfather was a boy of twelve 
years old," and Sutcliff then tells the anecdote of the boy 
peeping at Penn and seeing "the great man praying in pri- 
vate of his bed room," which has often been repeated, but 
with the old Llewellyn house, at Haverford, as the scene. 

Should it be presumed that this happened at the time of 
Penn's second visit to his Province, in 1700-1, and that O. J. 
refers to Owen Jones, Sr., 1711-1793, sometime treasurer 
of Pensylvania, who was a conspicuous Tory, (see p. 76). 
and that Mr. Sutcliff was visiting him in 1792-3, then this 
Mr, Owen's sister was misinformed, or got the incident 

"all wrong," because one of her grandfathers (Dr. Jones), 

i 

[577] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

was about 43 years old in 1700-1, and her other (Robert 
Owen), had then been dead about three years. Or, of her 
four great-grandfathers, only one (Dr. Wynne), came to 
Pensylvania and he was dead eight years, in 1700-1. If the 
spying happened at the time of Penn's first visit, 1682-3, 
the story is no more reliable, as her grandfather. Dr. Jones, 
was about 25 years old, and her other grandfather had not 
come to the Province. If the 0. J. was Owen Jones, Jr., 
1745-1825, the treasurer's son, and he was the one who 
"suffered" banishment, and one of his six sisters was Mr. 
Sutcliff, informant, then her grandfathers, Jonathan Jones, 
1680-1770, and Hugh Evans, 1682-1772, could either of 
them have been the peeper in 1700-1, and two of her great- 
grandfathers. Dr. Edward Jones, 1657-1737, and Thomas 
Evans, 1651-1738, could have been Penn's host that memo- 
rable night, with everything in favor of the episode happen- 
ing in this Jones family, but, of course, only during Penn's 
second visit to the Province. 

Sutcliff tells also of a visit to the Haverford Preparatory 
Meeting, on 12. lOmo. 1805, on his way from the Radnor 
Prep. Mtg. to the Merion Prep. Mtg., and says that at the 
early settlement of this meeting, "Friends of Philadelphia 
went every third First-day to attend it, most of them coming 
on foot, a distance of ten miles." (Before the R. C. Church 
of St. Denis was erected in Haverford tp., south of Ard- 
more, the earliest church of the denomination, the Catholics 
living in what was the Welsh Tract, walked to St. Patrick's 
Church on 20th street in the city, for worship) . And, con- 
tinuing as to Haverford, Mr. Sutcliff wrote, "amongst the 
rest, William Penn used to come on horseback, and would 
occasionally take up a little bare-footed girl behind him, to 
relieve her when tired." Out of this item grew the story 
related by Thomas Clarkson, a biographer of Penn, that 
once little Rebecca Wood, "says Sutcliff," walking alone 
from Darby to Haverford Meeting, was taken up behind 
him by William Penn, and so carried to the Meeting. 

Mr. Sutcliff, in entry of 14. 6mo. 1806, tells of attending 

[578] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

Merion Meeting, and listening to the preaching of the cele- 
brated Friends' minister, James Simpson, and his impres- 
sion of him. He records "Mr. Simpson is only a broom 
maker ; he is thin, and upwards of six feet high ; his visage 
is very long, and his face of an Indian complexion, with 
small, quick eyes, corresponding, and to appearances, he 
may be about eighty years of age. In the gallery, he com- 
monly wears a dark colored cap, fitting closely to his head, 
and over his shoulders, a long dark colored cloak." At this 
Meeting, he says there was a unusually large attendance — 
"a senator, four judges, and four magistrates" were in the 
congregation, "who all behaved in a becoming manner." 
He recorded that the boys and girls attended the Merion 
Meeting in hot weather, without shoes or stockings. And 
that "a number of men Friends also in the upper seats, sat 
without their coats and stockings, having long cotton 
trowsers which came down to their shoe tops." And that 
there was also one young man, who sometime appears in the 
ministry acceptable, had on a striped cotton jacket and 
trousers, and a drab hat. A costume which appeared 
strange to the Englishman. 

Mr. Sutcliff says he visited, 29. 6mo. 1806, "J. J. [brother 
to R. J.] and his wife, aged 95 and 89 years respectively." 
"One of her sisters is of the same age, and another sister in 
her 85th year." J. J. told he had "often heard his father 
speak of having seen the foundations laid of the first house 
built in Philadelphia." Mr. Sutclifi" mentioned many other 
people but by initials only, as B. J., and "his country resi- 
dence, just above the Falls of the Schuylkill"; Dr. H., who 
resided near the Merion Meeting House ; D. J., J. Z., H. B., 
R. B., P. W., who was a German paper maker; and "0. J. 
and his mother-in-law, and her ten daughters." 

In 1805, Mr. Sutcliff introduced the following item as an 
example of neutrality. A relation of his, W. B., who had 
a large stone house above Norristown, with 300 acres on 
the Schuylkill, extending to Perkiomen, he says, formerly 
owned by a Friend from London, named Vaux, who built 

[579] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

the house. When Vaux lived here during the American 
war, being in full view of the American encampment at 
Valley Forge on the opposite side of the Schuylkill, "he had 
frequently the company of Gen. Howe. One day it hap- 
pened that he had Howe to breakfast with him, and Gen. 
Washington to tea." 

On 10. 6mo. 1805, Mr. Sutcliff records "to Radnor monthly 
meeting at Merion. A couple who were about to be 
married, for whose accommodation the meeting at Merion 
was agreed to be held on 5th day, instead of 6th. After 
meeting, dined at J. H.'s. On 31st. 8mo. he was five days 
visiting at Merion, and in 9mo. he was there for three 
weeks. On 21 9mo., he says, "visited P. A. and his wife at 
H. Bowman's. Thej'^ are an ancient couple of plain, honest 
Friends, both in the ministry." "The grandfather, Edward 
Andrews, of P. A. became a friend in a remarkable way; 
he was a fiddler, living on the sea coast, in the Jerseys, and 
after playing for a dance, returning home, found a skull 
on the sand, buried it, and the reflections convinced him." 
On 4. lOmo., Mr. Sutcliff says he attended the Merion meet- 
ing with Elizabeth Coggerhall and Elizabeth Bird, and went 
with them to the house of a young man who had been dis- 
owned for taking up arms, but who had lately been rein- 
stated. And on 5. lOmo. 1805, "went with Joseph Paul, 
in his carriage, to see a large encampment on the Ridge 
Road, of poor people who had fled from the city on account 
of the yellow fever. Thence to William Hamilton's to see 
his plants." 

Like the Friends of the Merion Preparative meeting, 
those of Haverford built their stone meeting house by de- 
grees, slowly, and by contributions. The first stone house 
for public meetings was built in 1697-1700. In 1800, it 
was rebuilt, retaining part of the original structure, and 
has been added to, and on the whole, stands a substantial 
structure, built along plain lines peculiar to Friends' meet- 
ing houses. 

[680] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

There is good reason to believe that the Haverford Friends 
had a meeting house, built of dressed logs, almost co-ex- 
istent with that of Merion, although "Harfod Town" 
was only a sparsely settled neighborhood up to 1690. The 
monthly meeting, when in rotation it met with the Haver- 
ford Friends, met at the home of John Bevan, according 
to the minutes, and it may be supposed the earliest wed- 
dings took place at private houses. The first marriage of 
record on the book of the Haverford Monthly Meeting, was 
that of Humphrey Ellis and Gwen Rees, on 10. 12mo. 
(Feb.) 1683-4. But it is not recorded with which prepara- 
tive meeting it took place. But Lewis David and Florence 
Jones were married "at the Haverford meeting" 20. Imo. 
1689-90, and Rees Thomas and Martha Awbrey were mar- 
ried on 19. 4mo. 1692, "at the Haverford meeting," so it 
would appear there was a public meeting place for Haver- 
ford as early as Feb. 1689-90. 

Admitting that Thomas Ellis's home was in Haverford, 
we have in a letter written by him at Dublin, Ireland, on 
13 June, 1685, telling his correspondent the news from the 
Welsh Tract, as he knew it at the time he left here, in 
February, 1684-5. He wrote, "we have our burying place 
where we intend our meeting House [shall be built], as 
neer as we can to the Center" [of Haverford tp.]. He 
also tells that there were fifteen families living there, when 
he left, and eight others expected to arrive soon. There 
is no reason to doubt that this house was built when and 
where Mr. Ellis said, as we have from the minutes of the 
Haverford (Radnor) Mo. Mtg., "Att our monethly Meet- 
ing held at Haverford, ye 10th of ye 11th month, 1694." 
* * * "William Howell, William Jenkins, John Lewis, 
David Maurice, and David Lawrence, are ordered to gett a 
Stable made adjoining to this meeting House." This is cer- 
tainly good proof that there was a public meeting place 
here. What kind of a building it was is unknown, but it 
does not appear to have been durable, if built only ten 
years, for, from the minutes, of the monthly meeting, held 

[581] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

with Haverford Friends, in llmo. 1695, we learn a com- 
mittee was appointed to inspect and consider what way will 
be most convenient, to rebuild, or to repair this meeting 
house (the one the men were meeting in), and what the 
post would be in each case. No report of this committee, 
if made, is on record. It may be supposed that by 14 Jan. 
1696-7, it was not yet decided which it was better to do, 
build or repair, as the minute of this date says that David 
Lewis "accounted to the monthly meeting he had received 
£5 from Maurice Llewellyn, in part of a legacy from Mar- 
garet Howell towards the Repairing or Rebuilding of ye 
Meeting House at Haverford." But from the next minute 
on this subject, it may be seen that the Haverford Friends 
decided to build. 

1697-8, Imo., a committee was appointed by the monthly 
meeting to get contributions of cash money "to assist Hav- 
erford friends to build their Meeting House." And at the 
next monthly meeting, in 2mo., another committee was 
named "to consider what charges the building of the Meet- 
ing House at Haverford in every respect shall come to, and 
bring an account thereof in writing against the next meet- 
ing." At the next monthly meeting, 3mo., this committee 
reported that the cost would amount to at least £158. 
Thereupon, another committee was appointed to bring the 
subscriptions of the Merion and Radnor Friends towards 
the building expenses of the Haverford meeting, to the next 
monthly meeting. And in 4mo. 1698, the committee re- 
ported it had "received from Radnor meeting, £5. 15. ; 
Newtown meeting, £8. 0. ; Merion meeting £32. 10. 0, and 
from Friends in the Upper End of Merion, £9. 10. 0. total 
£55. 12. 0." This was a large sum for the Merion Friends 
to contribute when they were themselves paying for a meet- 
ing house, yet in addition to this subscription, the women's 
meeting of Merion contributed £4. 13. 7, "towards building 
Haverford meeting House," and, again the extant book of 
minutes of women's monthly meeting, 20. 8mo. 1701, held 
at Haverford says, "The women friends of Merion contri- 

[582] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

buted £6. 13s. towards building Haverford meeting house." 
And by entry of 11. 7mo. 1701, the Merion men had in- 
creased their contribution to £33. 16. 2. The minute also 
says that these subscriptions from Merion were all paid. 
From the minutes of the men's monthly meeting, 11. 4mo. 
1702, "informed that assistance was required towards fin- 
ishing the meeting House at Haverford, and it was decided 
to lend the £10 left by John Humphrey (towards the print- 
ing "The Sons of Jacob in Welch), to be returned when 
desired." From these items, it may be seen that the ex- 
perience of the two preparative meetings of Merion and 
Haverford, were about the same when building, and at the 
same time, only the Merion meeting did not get the deed for 
its "house lot" till in 1714, and the Haverford meeting 
trustees had their deed bearing date 7. Imo. 1693-4, which 
was earlier even than the date of the deed to the Merion 
Friends for their graveyard land, which was in 1695. 

In Radnor Town there was no necessity for a public 
meeting place for Friends before 1717, when erection of 
the present stone building was considered, the "town" being 
thinly settled, and dwellings scattered. But, as soon as 
families of Welsh Friends settled in far away Radnor, relig- 
ious meetings were held at the dwellings of John Jermon 
and John Evans. The first wedding of record in this town- 
ship and preparative meeting, took place at the home of 
Mr. Evans, on 2. 3mo. 1686, between Richard Ormes and 
Mary Tyder, both of this township. 

When there was a sufficient number of Welsh Friends in 
Radnor Town, David Meredith formed and completed the 
organization of the Radnor preparative meeting, and it took 
the place of the Schuylkill preparative meeting in the Hav- 
erford monthly meeting. Through his efforts, it is pre- 
sumed, the Radnor meeting house was erected. Of this 
event in Radnor, the minutes of the Haverford monthly 
meeting record, on 10. 8mo. 1717, "A letter from our 
friend, Benjamin Holme, to this meeting, recommending 
to their consideration the stirring up of Friends in the 

[.583] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

building of the meeting house at Radnor, and with a desire 
that we should be concerned." This was approved, and a 
committee of the members of the monthly meeting was 
appointed, David Morris at the head, "to assist in the con- 
trivance of the building thereof." At the next monthly 
meeting, "Radnor's new house" was again considered, but 
the erection of the house was not begun till the following 
spring. At the monthly meeting in 9mo. 1718, it was 
reported as partly completed; but in 4mo. 1721, it was not 
all finished, and the work on it was then only partly paid 
for, therefore, a committee was appointed by the monthly 
meeting to try and obtain cash contributions to help along 
the Radnor Friends, but in 5mo. 1723, the labor was not all 
paid. During the Revolutionary War, this meeting house 
was for a time occupied as soldiers' quarters and a hospital, 
by the Americans. 

Up to 1700, there were apparently no inhabitants of 
Merion who were not Friends, either Welsh or English, the 
reason being that the original purchases of land were in 
large lots, and the settlers well able to hold their grants, 
and not cut them up into small farms, and sell them, till in 
the second and third generations. 

It was the contrary in Radnor, and partially so in Hav- 
erford, and the small farm lots soon attracted many non- 
Quakers, especially those v/ho built up the Welsh congre- 
gation of the Church of England in Radnor "town." As 
early as in 1700, this was a mission visited by the Rev. Evan 
Evans, the rector of Christ Church in the city, when serv-- 
ices were held at the house of William Davis. As the 
register of St. David's P. E. Church begins with a baptism 
in 1706, it is presumed it was about that time the congre- 
gation had its first church, and that it was a log one stand- 
ing on the farm of Mr. Davis (which in late years was the 
estate of Tryon Lewis) , and that the ruins of a log building 
on the place may have been those of the church edifice which 
preceded the present stone building. There is an extant 
letter from the Rev. Mr. Evans to the S. P. G. F. P., dated 

[584] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

Sept. 1707, telling of services which he conducted "in the 
Welsh language at Radnor once a fortnight for four years 
past." It was not till seven years after this that the 
church had its first rector sent to take charge of the con- 
gregation. During these intervening years, the Rev. John 
Clubb, a Philadelphia school teacher, conducted the services, 
and preached at Radnor, as a missionary. The first grave- 
yard of St. David's was at the junction of the Reeseville 
and Sugartown roads, where it was originally, or on 7 Sept. 
1714, intended to build the present church, the corner stone 
of which was laid with ceremony, on 9 May, 1715. Up to 
1765, the church had no floor, and the gallery was built in 
1772. The first rectory, or "vestry house" was built in 1767, 
where a school house stood, but the present one was not 
erected till in 1844. During the Revolutionary War the 
church was without a rector, and closed, excepting that like 
the Haverford meeting house it was used by the American 
soldiers. 

Before these Welsh Episcopalians had a minister, or their 
church, they seemed to prefer being wed by Friends' cere- 
mony than by a Justice of the Peace, or the missionary, 
hence there are some marriages of non-Friends on the books 
of the Haverford Monthly Meeting, as, for instance, the 
marriage (certificate dated "Haverford, the 17th day of the 
Ninth month, in the year 1687") of "Daniel Thomas, late of 
Haverford, aforesaid," and "Eleanor Vaughan, of the 
same," "came to the meeting of God, called Quakers," and 
were married according to Friends' form. This certificate 
was signed in the usual Friends' custom, by Lewis David, 
Eleanor Lawrence, Daniel Thomas, James Thomas, Sarah 
Rhydrth, Eleanor Thomas, David Lawrence, Given Thomas, 
Morris Llewellyn, Francis Price, John Richard, Sarah 
David, David Lawrence, Mary Llewellyn, Richard Hayes, 
and David llyllynn. 

It is hardly within the scope of this work to more than 
refer casually to the unfortunate division, without bringing 
forward the particulars in the matter, in the Merion prepa- 

[585] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

rative meeting, which occurred in 1827-28, and was brought 
about by the injection of the theories and teachings of Elias 
Hicks, when the meeting was separated into two bodies, 
both members of the Society of Friends. 

Ancient Friends to-day recollect hearing that olden time 
neighbors, birthright members of the Merion meeting (and 
it was possibly so in the other Welsh Tract preparative 
meetings), who held different views on the serious matter 
of doctrine and belief, or the tenets of their religion, the 
wedge that split every Friends' meeting, became estranged, 
and their social intercourse was interrupted, and that, at 
first, after the majority of this meeting was convinced that 
Friend Hicks was right in his claims and teachings, the two 
sections, the majority and the minority members, continued 
to use the Merion Meeting House for worship, alternately, 
each in a manner after its own convictions. It is related,, 
that while all sat together, the so-called "Hicksites," their 
leaders being John and Joseph George, and Edward Price, 
would first hold their meeting for worship, then adjourn, 
close the shutters, shut the doors of the meeting house, and 
go home, leaving the minority, who came to be designated 
as "Orthodox Friends," protesting vociferously in darkness. 
Then these would open the door and shutters, and hold their 
services. But the feeling became too intense for such a 
condition to last long, and the two bodies met in the old 
meeting house at widely different hours and days, till, it is 
tradition, the "Hicksites" changed the locks on the doors, 
and the minority could not get the use of the house, or, till 
the Orthodox minority could no longer "suffer" such humil- 
iating conditions, and, under the leadership of Jesse and 
David George, Israel Wister, and Henry Morris, retired in 
a body, leaving the property, and the ancient meeting house, 
with its memories equally dear to them, in possession of the 
Hicksite majority. But they took with them some of the old 
records of the meeting, the treasurer's accounts, &c., and 
these are still preserved in their vault, at their librar\% 
instituted in 1742, No. 142 N. 16th Street, Philadelphia. 

[586] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

This branch, the seceding members of the Merion Meeting, 
transferred their meetings for worship and business to a 
little stone school house, built about 1732, and standing till 
recently, in the woods, near where 57th and Jefferson 
streets now intersect, which they used till about 1882, or till 
the death of Mr. Henry Morris, the last survivor of the 
"seceders." In an article by Mr. George Vaux, a venerable 
"Orthodox Friend," in "The Friend," 12. 9mo. 1896, tells a 
little more of the period of this unpleasant episode in the 
entity of the Merion Meeting. He says, in 1827, at the time 
of the separation, the Radnor Monthly Meeting consisted of 
five particular meetings, namely, Merion, Haverford, Rad- 
nor, The Valley, and Charlestown, and out of the 445 mem- 
bers of the monthly meeting there were only 70 of them 
who were "Orthodox," and naturally all of the meeting 
houses, and properties were retained by the "Hicksites." 
Those holding to the Trinitarian belief, as above said, 
retired from the Merion meeting to the little school house 
above Hestonville. And those from the Haverford meet- 
ing retired to meet at private houses, and eventually met at 
a meeting house they erected in 1837, near Haverford Col- 
lege. These two Orthodox Meetings had a monthly meeting 
up to 1865, when they united with the Western District of 
the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting of the "Orthodox" branch 
of the Society. After the decease of Henry Morris, the 
Hestonville Meeting, as the Merion seceders' meeting was 
known, was "laid down," but that of the "Haverford 
Friends (Orthodox) ," still lives. Some of the records of the 
original meetings of the Welsh Friends are preserved in the 
vault of the Friends' Librarj% at 15th and Race streets, 
Philadelphia. By mutual arrangement, both branches of 
the Friends have had the old books in each other's keeping 
copied for themselves. 

On the afternoon of the 5th. lOmo., 1895, "the bi-centen- 
nial celebration of the erection of the Merion meeting 
house," the pioneer House of God west of the Schuylkill 
river, was celebrated with appropriate ceremonies in a large 

[587] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

tent erected on the lawn on which the historic building 
stands, a full account of which may be found in the Phila- 
delphia newspapers of that time, and in two little books, 
handsomely gotten up. It was estimated that upwards of 
2,000 people visited the old meeting house that day. Both 
sections of the Society of Friends attended because the early 
history of the Merion meeting is the heritage and glory of 
each. The subject of this commemoration was first intro- 
duced at a meeting of the Radnor monthly meeting, on 11. 
4mo. 1895, and the celebrations was held under its auspice, 
Mr. Robert M. Janney being selected as chairman of the 
committee of arrangement and program. 

The ceremonies were simple, and began with a paper read 
by Miss Walker, of Chester Valley, sketching briefly the 
annals of the Merion meeting. It is of interest to note here 
that Miss Walker, speaking of the desire for "an inde- 
pendent State" the Welsh Friends had to surrender after 
considerable of a struggle, as related before, said, "this 
relinquishment was only accomplished through a stern sense 
of duty, and was done, as Friends say, 'greatly in the 
cross,' after the failure of Griffith Owen, and others, to 
convince the Commissioners." Miss Walker was followed 
in the program of the day by the reading of an appropriate 
poem by Dr. James R. Walker, of Philadelphia. Dr. Allen 
G. Thomas, of Haverford College, read a paper, entitled 
"What the Friend has done," in which he told of the good 
and useful deeds inaugurated and accomplished by the 
Friends. Dr. Francis B. Gummere, also of Haverford Col- 
lege, read a poem, which was followed by a service of medi- 
tation, and a prayer. The literary part of the day's func- 
tion closed with an address by Mr. Isaac H. Clothier, who 
spoke of the work and principles of the Society of Friends. 
The meeting house was temporarily converted into a mu- 
seum, and relics and mementos of the olden time of the 
neighborhood were displayed, together with old certificates 
of removal, old marriage certificates, deeds for local lands, 
&c. At the time of the celebration, there were not a dozen 

[588] 



WELSH FRIENDS' MEETINGS 

families of Friends which attended meetings in the old 
Merion house, and at this writing, there are not that many, 
and it is over seventy-five years since a wedding of record 
took place within its walls, but burials in the old graveyard 
are frequent. 

This is, you may have seen, an annotated compilation of 
facts concerning the removal of the Welsh Friends to Penn's 
province. Assembled, they have told of the promises made 
to them as inducements to remove; their disappointment 
that they were not kept; how they adjusted themselves to 
their defeat, and, throughout their troubles with Penn, and 
his agents in his province, and for years after, that their 
leading men, their ministers and elders, were always noted 
for good influence in provincial civic affairs, and for this 
reason deserve the pi'ominence they hold in the annals of the 
Province, and the Commonwealth. 

But this was not the only end aimed at. It was to relate 
and to record the personnel of the Welsh settlers ; the loca- 
tions of their first purchases; their early experiences in 
their new homes, matters interesting always to descendants, 
and something about their Meetings; but particularly con- 
cerning the Merion Preparative Meeting, and its place of 
worship, the oldest meeting house in America. 

The method followed, I can only hope has been satisfac- 
tory to a majority of the readers. The viewpoint of the 
events of the past with "the eyes of to-day," should not 
necessarily distort them. However, human nature was the 
same then as now. The "high ideals" of olden times still 
have place; morals have only shifted. What was "wrong" 
then, from our viewpoint, does not obtain now. What is 
"wrong" now-a-days was never even imagined then. The 
"Christian sense of Sin" was the same in the 17th as in the 
20th century. Only the "Golden Rule" has accumulated 
more "exceptions," and "creature comforts" are better, at 
least they seem so, now-a-days. 

I had no idea when, on that 

"Fair First-day morning," 

[589] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

I made my first acquaintance with the old Merion meet- 
ing house, which I then visited out of curiosity, that it 
would become the cause of such arduous labor as I have 
since experienced. However, it has been facinating, this 
self-imposed task as one of the chroniclers of its annals, and 
this strange to say, for I have no Welsh blood, nor am I a 
Quaker, or a descendant of one. I say this all in extenuation 
of the selection and reproduction of some statements which 
I do not imagine will be pleasant reading to everyone. 



[590] 



APPENDIX 



Page 26. "No where was persecution [of Quakers] more severe" 
[than in Wales]. The Welsh Quakers "stood it all heroically, and 
when William Penn offered them a haven of rest, they found an 
honourable way of escaping the trials which seemed practically end- 
less. But they loved their old country; its language and customs, 
and a committee of them obtained from William Penn the offer of 
a Barony, where they could have a new Wales, and, as they hoped, 
a government of their own, unmixed with alien influences". (See pp. 
442-3, "The Quakers in the American Colonies", by Rufus M. Jones, 
Isaac Sharpless, and Amelia M. Gummere, 1911). 

Page 27. An exception can be given to this statement, for Lady 
Anne Conway was prominent as a Quakeress in time of Mr. Fox. 
She was the daughter of Sir Heneage Finch, speaker of the House 
of Commons, died in 1631. She married (his first wife), in 1651, 
the Hon. Edward Conway (son and heir of Edward, Viscount Con- 
way, of Ragley), who succeeded his father in 1655, and in 1679, was 
created Earl of Conway. Lady Conway's brother, Heneage Finch, 
1621-1682, was created Earl of Nottingham, and was Lord Chan- 
cellor. 

Page 80. The location of the Merion meeting house was rather on 
the northeastern line, than corner of Rees's first land. 

Page 80. The deeds of 1695 and 1714, have cleared up all doubt as 
to on which lot the Merion Meeting House was built. 

Page 96. "Elizabeth William Owen" (not "Katherine Robert") 
was the wife of Robert Pugh, Gent., and mother of Hugh Roberts. 
See pp. 125-6. 

Page 98. The six lines at the foot of this page were badly pied by 
pressman, and should read: 

In Radnorshire, he visited Roger Hughes ; at Lanole, Ed- 
ward Jones, David Powel, Thomas Goodin, near Llwyn-du. 
From North Wales he travelled to many places in South 
Wales, then back to Merionethshire, in the North, where 
he visited Lewis Owen, near Dollegelley, then to Bala, and 
"Penllyn where I was born and bred," and visited there his 
old friend, Robert Vaughan, and then made another pil- 
grimage through Wales. 

[591] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Page 110. At the top of this page, between the third and fourth 
lines, should be the lost line: 

Goch of Byrammer, in the parish of Cerrig y druidion. 

Page 110. Thomas Ellis and Hugh Roberts filed Memorials as to 
John Thomas with the Haverford Mo. Mtg. 

Page 117. The difficulty that the heirs of John Thomas had in 
getting a bonus lot in the city, as in the following petition, is an ex- 
ample of what other Welshmen experienced. 

"The Case of Robert Jones in Relation to a high Street Lot appur- 
tenant to his father's purchase Stated. 

May it please the Proprietor. 

My father John Thomas and Edward Jones for themselves and 
Company in 7ber in the Year 1681 purchased 5000 acres of Land 
in this Province of which Quantity my father's part was 1250 acres. 

In the year 1682 Edward Jones arrived here with several others 
of that Company by whom my father sent some Effects and agreed 
with them to make some provision for him against his intended 
coming and on the ISth of the 2d Month 1683 The proprietor issued 
his Warrt to the Surveyor Gen' to lay out to my father a front lot 
on Delaware proportional to his purchase of 1250 ac as aforesd. 

In the beginning of the year 1683 my fathers intended Voyage 
hither was prevented be Death But his Widow and family about 20 
in number arrived here in November 1683 and found one half of the 
purchase taken up in the place since called Merion and some small 
Improvement made on the same where we then settled And as we 
were soon after informed a lot was laid out in the City on Delaware 
front by one Richard Noble a Deputy Surv>' in pursuance of the Warrt 
aforesd soon after w'''' s<i Noble left these parts and on Enquiry no 
Return found of the sfi Lot the Warrt also was mislaid and not found 
for several Years during w''!" interval one Herriot (If I mistake not) 
possess<i himself of the lot laid out to us as afores<3. 

On the 16th of 7ber 1684 the Commas granted a Warr* to my 
mother for the high Street lot appurten' to the purchase afores^. 

About the Year 1692 the Warrt for the front lot being found we 
thereupon applied to the Commas for relief but upon enquiry the 
Survr alleged there was no vacant front lot on Delaware the s<l 
Commrs therefore issued their Warrt dated the 24th. IQth M" 1692 
to the Surveyor to lay out to my Mother a Lot of 50 foot front on 
Delaware second Street adjoining John Griffiths w-'ii lot was laid out 
accordingly. 

But the High Street lot we were told fell at Skulkil and we refused 
to accept of it there it being as we conceived without any one president 
that our front lot should lie on Delaware and our High Street lot 
on Skulkil. 

[592] 



APPENDIX 

About the year 1700 the Second Street lot laid out to us as aforesd 
was again taken from us, but on the 6th: 2d Mo. 1702 the Commrs 
granted us another Warrt for a Second Street lot in lieu of the 
former, but of 34 foot broad, no more (as we supposed) being then 
vacant and to compensate its deficiency in breadth, a small lot of 20 
ft broad on third Street was joined to it, and afterwards confirmed 
to us by patent But no high Street lot has yet been laid out to us 

I therefore desire the proprietor would be pleased to grant a Warrt 
for the high Street lot in such manner as has been usual to other 
purchasers." 

Robert Jones's mother, whom he mentions above, (and of whom in 
page 117), was known in her widowhood by her maiden name, after 
Welsh custom, as well as by her husband's name, "Katharine Robert" 
and "Katharine Thomas.'' Her certificate of removal which she 
brought over, and is preserved with Marion Meeting MSS, it may be 
seen was more than the usual, formal indorsement from one meeting 
to another. 

"To all whom it may concern: 

Whereas, Katerin Robert, of llaithgwm, in ye County of Merioneth, 
widdow, hath declared before us her intention in order to her and her 
families removal to Pensilvania in America, wee thought it convenient 
to certify in her and their behalfe yt she is one yt received the truth 
for these ten years past, and that hath walked since answerable to 
the truth according to her measure. She is a woman yt never gave 
occasion to ye enemies of truth to open their mouths against ye truth 
which she owned; her children taught and educated in the fear of the 
Lord from their infancy Answerable to ye duty of parents, both 
professing and possessing ye truth. 

from our mens & womens 

meetings ye 18 of 5mo. 1683. 

Robert Owen. Cadd Lewis, Richard Price, Edward Griffith, 

Elizabeth William Bowen, Elizabeth John, Margaret Cadwalader." 

As stated in page 121, this Robert Jones married (11 May, 1693), 
Ellen Jones, sister-in-law to Mrs. Katharine Jones, (p. 270), whose 
certificate of removal is also among the Merion Meeting archives. 
In a few years, these two remarkable pioneer women, related to each 
other by consanguinity in their native country, became more closely 
connected by subsequent intermarriages between their descendants. 
In this connection, it is interesting to know that Mr. Lewis Jones 
Levick, of Bala, Philadelphia, has a handsome cabinet made by 
combining, without changing, the two sea-chests, handsomely carved, 
which were brought to the New World by these two ladies, "the two 
Katharins". The chest of Katharine Robert, or Thomas, carries her 
initials: K R 1664. 

[593] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

Page 121. "1756, Aug. 30. Robert Jones, Dr. 

On acc't his purchase. 

The Estate of Jo Williams. 

To the Gulph Mill & plant'n 

sold him this day at Vendue, — 1005 

Pd for Deeds & recording 1. 7.6. 



£1006. 7.6. 

Pd Cash £290, (& by 5 Jan. 1757, had pd all but 14.18.9, bal due), 
it is paid". 

Above item from the "Jones Papers", (in the Levick collection), 
where may be seen the marriage certificate of the above Robert 
Jones and Ellen Jones, with seventy-five signatures. Their wedding 
took place at the house of Katharine Thomas, 3. 11. 1693. Also mar- 
riage certificates of James Jones, of Blockley, and Hannah Hayes, 
dau. of Richard, 10. 8mo. 1727, (and the birth dates of their chil- 
dren) ; and of Jonathan Jones, (son of Jonathan and Gainer Jones), 
and Sarah Jones, (dau. Thomas and Ann Jones), dated 8. llmo. 
1741; and of Evan Jones, (son of John Pugh), and Hannah (Davis) - 
Jones, dau. of Hugh David and Mary Elizabeth, in 1712, and also of 
Lewis Jones and Katharine Jones, dau. of Thomas Jones, dated 29. 
10. 1732 (and births of their children). 

Page 129. Sidney Rees's father was "Evan Rees", of Penmaen. 

Page 160. In the Book of Memorials of the Haverford Mo. Mtg. 
may be read the memorial prepared by John Humphreys as to Robert 
Owen, and his wife, Jane. He said, "They were the man and woman 
to my knowledge that first opened the door for a reformation of re- 
ligion in the country (Merionethshire) where they lived, after the 
Civil War between King and Parliament began." Rowland Ellis 
also testified as to their worth: — "After the time of Oliver and Rich- 
ard Cromwell, Robert was commissioned captain of the militia, and 
governor of Bewmares, a seaport town upon the Irish coast." But 
when Robert Owen was required to take the Oath of Allegiance and 

Supremacy, he refused, and was imprisoned for years. His 

wife then was the mother of nine sons, and her relatives, "yt then 
bore ye chieffest sway in ye whole county," urged her to prevail on her 
husband to yeild, and save his estate for his children, but she de- 
clined to interfere. Robert and Jane died within five days of each 
other, in 5mo. 1685. 

Page 167. Line 18 from bottom should be, "and married his second 
wife" (?). See pp. 168-9. 

Page 168. Line 7 from bottom, omit comma between "sensible" and 
"she". 

Page 178. Line 2 from bottom, should be "Ruabon." 

[594] 



APPENDIX 

Page 179. Will of "Daniel Medlicott, of Haverford," signed in the 
presence of Stephen Evans, John Roberts, and Daniel Meredith, 16. 7. 
1688, was proved at Philadelphia, 20 March, 1697-8. He left his 
estate to his wife, Martha, and mentioned his daughter, Mary Medli- 
cott, and overseers Edward Jones and Francis Howell. He had prop- 
erty "near Schoolkill beyond the Gulff". His widow, Martha, married 
James Keite (his second wife), who died in 1713. 

Page 181. I do not know who was the compiler of the pedigree, so 
cannot speculate on its authenticity, or reliability, and this, too, since 
KG authorities are given for important statements made, nor are the 
sources of the information cited, but there is a "long distance" pedi- 
gree of Dr. Thomas Wynne printed in page 618, of Jordan's "Colonial 
Families of Philadelphia." It says that the Doctor was the son of 
Thomas ap John Wynne, and that "he was born in parish of Yskeiviog, 
near Caerways, Flintshire." The Doctor's immediate pedigree as 
given, runs, 

"John ap Rees ap John Wynne" married at Bodfari church, 29 Oct. 
1588, Grace Morgan. (It is not known when either died). "Their 
only son," 

"Thomas ap John Wynne," lived on Brovedog farm in Yskeiviog 
parish. He was bapt. at Yskeiviog par. church 20 Dec. 1589. (His 
wife's name not given). (According to the Doctor's statement, his 
father died about 1638). "He had five sons. His third and fourth 
were," 

3. John Wynne, bapt. at above church, 13 April, 1625. He came to 
Pensylvania with his brother, and lived in Sussex county. 

4. Dr. Thomas Wynne, bapt. at above church, 20 July, 1627. 
Page 182. Line 5 from top, should be "Gwydir." 

Page 191. Line 13 from top, should be "Mary Southworth." 

Page 236. The certificate of removal of Rowland Ellis and his 
wife was read in the Haverford Mo. Mtg., 12. 6mo. 1697. It appears 
that meetings for worship were held at his house during the cold 
weather of 1713-4, and for weddings also. 

Page 284. See The Cosmopolitan Magazine, March, 1909, for fur- 
ther concerning the Hank-Lincoln pedigree. 

Pages 294-6. The "Awbrey" pedigree is reproduced from Dr. Jor- 
dan's "Colonial Families of Philadelphia", (pp. 139-40), and Glenn's 
"Merion in the Welsh Tract." But the pedigree of "Aubrey, of 
Llantrithyd, in Glamorganshire", in Betham's "Baronetage", vol. II. 
p. 137, reproduced from the pedigree compiled by Vincent, the Wind- 
sor Herald, of Elizabeth's reign, differs somewhat, as follows, from 
the one here reproduced: — 

(No. 6). THOMAS AUBREY, lord of Aberkinrigg and Slough, 
[who was the son of Thomas Aubrey, lord of Aberkinrigg, &c. (and 

[595] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 

his wife Joneda, dau. Traherne ap Einion, lord of Commott, des- 
cended from Lord Brouham, of Brecknock, "who had thirty chil- 
dren"), son of William Aubrey, (and Margaretta, dau. Sir William 
Gunter) , second son of Sir Reginald Aubrey, a knight in the train 
of Bernard de Newmarch, in his expedition into Wales, 1094, and for 
services on this occasion received the grant of part of the great 
manor of Aberkinrigg and Slough, son of "Saint Aubrey", a com- 
panion of The Conqueror, 1066], who m. a dau. of Saint Andrew 
Carew, (son of Egan, Baron Carew, son of Edmund, Baron Carew, 
and his wife, Elizabeth, dau. of Rhys ap Tudor King of South 
Wales), and had, 

(No. 8). THOMAS AUBREY, lord of Aberkinrigg and Slough, 
who in. Nesta, dau. of Owen Gethin, a descendant of Blethin, lord of 
Brecknock. Prom this man to No. 14 the pedigrees are similar. 

Betham, following out the family of Hopkin Aubrey, (13), says 
he had five sons, and that Thomas Aubrey, second son, was the 
father of William Aubrey, LL.D., Regius Professor of Law at Ox- 
ford, and that (14) William Aubrey, the fifth son, was seated at 
Ballege, but gives only William's issue by his wife, a dau. of Mad- 
dock ap Traharne, of Maddock. 

Page 300. Four years after his arrival in America, Edward Foulke 
wrote in Welsh an account of his removal. It is the only account 
of this emigration written by one of the Gwynedd Company known 
to exist, and it is more circumstantial and precise than almost any 
other referring to any of the Welsh settlers in Pensylvania. With 
this is a brief genealogy of Edward Foulke, written by himself, all in 
the British language: — 

"I, Edward Foulke, was the son of Foulke ap Thomas ap Evan 
ap Thomas ap Robert ap David Lloyd ap David ap Evan Vaughn ap 
Griffith ap Madoc ap Jerwert ap Madoc ap Rihrid Plaidd, Lord of 
Penllyn, who dwelt at Rhiwaedog. 

"My mother's name was Lowry, the daughter of Edward ap David 
ap Ellis ap Robert, of the parish of llanvor, in Merionethshire. 

"I was born on the 13th of 5th month, 1651, and when arrived at 
mature age, I married Eleanor, the daughter of Hugh ap Cadwal- 
lader ap Rhys, of the parish of Spytu, in Denbighshire. Her 
Mother's name was Gwen, the daughter of Ellis ap William ap Hugh 
ap Thomas ap David ap Madoc ap Evan ap Cott ap Evan ap Griffith 
ap Madoc ap Einion ap Meredith, of Cai-Fadog, and she was born 
in the same parish and Shire with her husband. We lived at a place 
calle Coed-y-foel, a beautiful farm, belonging to Roger Prince, Esq., 
of Rhiwlas, Merionethshire aforesaid. But in process of time, I had 
an inclination to remove with my family to the Province of Pensyl- 
vania; and in order thereto, we set out on the third day of the 2nd 

[596] 



APPENDIX 

Month, A. D. 1698, and came in two days to Liverpool, where, with 
divers others who intended to go the voyage, we took shipping the 
17th of the same month, on board the "Robert and Elizabeth," and 
the next day set sail for Ireland, where we arrived and staid until 
the first of the 3rd month. May, and then sailed again for Pensyl- 
vania, and were about eleven weeks at sea." 

Page 356. "A political governor ran a county line through their 
Tract, and devided their State interests. * * * * The powers, both 
civil and ecclesiatical, conspired to break their unity." ("The 
Quakers in the American Colonies.") 

Page 372. "It was impossible to give them [the Quakers of the 
Welsh Tract] a complete government, and complete possession of 
the soil. Saxon ideas would creep in, and Saxon men would marry 
their daughters, and while their countrymen at home retained the 
Welsh customs, in a generation or two, they were lost "in Pensyl- 
"vania. ("The Quakers in the American Colonies.") 

Page 513. This matter of buying "the right to affirm", also was 
noticed as follows by the Falls Meeting, Bucks Co., in 1726. "The 
Governor and General Assembly of the Province having passed a law 
for the ease of Friends relating to a solemn affirmation, the getting 
of which to be confirmed hath cost some Friends considerably, it is 
therefore agreed that a free contribution be made". 

Page 525. In this connection, it may be observed that in early 
days it was compulsory that men Friends wear their hats in meet- 
ings. For instance, because Thomas Atkinson, Sr., 1663-1739, when 
attending Bridgeton (or Mt. Holly) preparative meeting, would sit 
in meetings with his hat off, Restore Lippincott reported him to the 
Burlington Mo. Mtg., for "violation of usuage". Thomas made some 
satisfactory explanation, and the matter was dropped. 



[597] 



INDEX 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



"Ye Labour and ye Patience, ye Judgement and ye Penetration 
which are required to make a Good Index is only known to those who 
have gone through with this most necessary and painful, but least 
praised part of a publication." — (William Oldys, 1687.) 

N. B. The names in the following pages are not in- 
cluded in this Index— 423-426 ; 456-457 ; 448-486 ; 490-493 ; 
517-518; 541-548; 563; 566-569; 571. 

PARTIAL INDEX OF NAMES. 



Abel. Thomas, 154 
Abraham. Daniel, 347 
Enoch, 490 
Isaac, 490 
James, 490, 
491 

Joseph, 130 
Noah, 490 
Sarah, 490 
Adams. John, 443 
Addihi. William, 455 
Albin. Thomas, 347 
Alexander. Henry, 452 
Alice V. James Lewis, 

498 
Allen. Benjamin. 283 
" Sarah Oatherin, 
160 
Allen. William, 435 
Allin. Mrs. Philip T., 
294 I 

Andrews. Edward, 579'''> 
Peter, 576*^ 
Roger, 191 ' ^ 
Andrew. Shrieve John, 

319 
Anhurs. Charles, 480 



Armes. 

Armett. 
Arthur. 

Ascue. 



Ann. John Vaughan, 292 
Anthony. Richard, 319 
Arndt. 474 

Richard, 259 
Thomas, 261 
Richard, 419 
Charles J., 481 
Robert, 262 
John, 97 
Aslibridge family, 135 
Ashbridge. George, 136, 

211 
Ashbridge. Phebe, 211 
Ashcombe. \ Charles, 51, 
Ashcom. f 52, 67, 71, 
88, 366 

t?ton.}G-^S<''^38,442 

Aistor. Mrs. Ava W., 

294 
Atherton. 

211 
Atherton. 



Atlee. George B., 074, 
285. 



Grace, 210, 



Atkinson. 



't^ i"<6C^" 



Henry, 211 
Jennet, 211 

James, 122 
Thomas, 597 

[599] 



Aubrey. 
Awbrey. 



Barbara, 163 



Barbara, 289 
Elizabeth, 172 
Gwalter, 295 
Hopkin, 295 
Jenkin, 295 
Martha, 172, 

294, 296, 520 
Awbrey. Morgan, 295 

Richard, 295, 
296 
Awbrey. Thomas, 172, 

295, 296 

Awbrey. William, 167, 
168, 171, 172, 295, 296 
Aull. James, 289 
Bache. Sarah, 521 
Bacon. Charles L., 73 
Charles W., 73 
David, 420 
Bailey. Robert, 420 
Baird. Mrs. Edgar W., 

284 
Baird. Henry C, 284, 
294 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Baird. James, 449 
Baldwin family. 473 
Ball. John, 196, 232, 

261 
Barker. Tliomas, 368 
Barnes. Alice, 189 
John, 189 
Barrett. Hugh, 481 
Bartlett. Walter, 98 
Bartram. Edward, 420 
George, 420 
" Isaac, 451 

Basset. Catharine, 289 

Thomas, 289 
Bate. Humphrey, 224 
Bealer. Jacob, 130 
Beardsley. Alexander, 146 
Betket. Peter, 561 
Bedford. Gunning, 419 
William, 420 
Bedward. William. 85 
Beirne. Rich. F., 300 
Bell. Mrs. John T., 289 
Benustone. 1 , , ^^^ 
Benson. / ^°^''' ^91 
Berenger. Raymond de, 

285 
Besse. Joseph. 185 
Bethel. Major .John, 455 
Bettaly. ) Humph rey, 
Bettly. r 17S. 191 
Bettle. Mrs. Sam'l.. 283 
Bevan family, 166. 167 
Bevan's house, 162 
Bevan's land. 163 
Bevan. Andrew J., 289 
Ana, 103. 170 
Awbrey, 169 
" Barbara, 167, 

170 
Bevan. Catherine. 170 
Chas., 163, 168, 
189. 170, 255 
Bevan. Elinor, 221 
" Elizabeth,. 170 

Evan. 103, 168, 
169, 170, 221, 257 
Bevan. Henry C, 170, 

289 
Bevan. .Tane. 169 

John, 25, 33. 95, 
98, 103, 117, 124, 138, 
163-170, 171. 191, 199, 
203, 204, 218, 221, 226, 
232, 244, 245, 249, 254. 
255, 256, 258, 260, 261, 
263, 288, 289, 294. 317, 
318, 366, 371. 383, 384, 
433, 498, 500, 503, 505, 
506, 510, 513, 515, 529, 
533, 580 
Bevan. Jr. .John, 163, 
168, 169 



Bevan. John L., 170 
Mary, 319 
Richard, 168, 
490 
Bevan. Stephen. 223. 

530, 251. 259, 261 
Bevan. Thomas, 168 
Walter, 289 
William, 235, 
319, 502 
Bevan. William E., 289 
Bicking. Frederick, 456 

Richard. 456 
Biddle family, 159 
Biddle. Alexander, 283 
Arthur, 283 
.Jr., A. W., 283 
Charles M., 283 
Clement, 159, 
420 
Biddle. -James W., 283 
.John. 159. 420 
.Tohn B., 283 
William. 2S3 
Bingley. William 242 
Bird. Elizabeth. 576; 579:^ 
Bispham. Mrs. .T. B., 294 
Blackford. Mrs. Eugene, 

283 
Blackham. Richard, 275 
Blackstone, 97 
Blackwell. Gov. John, 

143. 352, 353, 359 
Blair. Mrs. A. B., 283 
Blunstone. "i John, 353, 
Blunston. / 358, 529 
Bohun. William de, 285 
Bond. Elizabeth. 103 

.Joseph, 87 
Bousell. Edward. 419 
Boone. Andreas. 350 
Boteler. Sir William. 286 
Boude. Thomas, 440 
Br.udinot. Elias. 453 
Boulton. Job. 65 
Bourge. John. 241 
Bowie. ,Tohn, 174 
Bowman. Henry, 576. 579 
Bowne. .John, 232 

Samuel. 101 
Bowen. Evan, 271 

•John, 173. 180 
Mary, 197 
" Owen. 98 

Thomas, 107 
Boyle. Capt. James, 468 
Bradford. Andrew. 152 
William. 526 
Brascy. Thomas, 386 
Briggs. David, 452 
Bringhurst. James, 419 
Joseph, 420 



Brinton. Ann, 230 

Elizabeth. 230 
William. 2.30 
Broadber. Will, 163 
Brock. John, 189 
Brockes. Samuel, 275 
Brooke. Hugh Jones, 133, 

296. 
Brooke. Hunter, 133 

.Jr., Hunter, 296 
Nathan. 216 
Mrs. Nathan, 
296 

" William T.. 

133, 296 
Brown. Martha JI., 190 

William. 174 
Browne. Sir Anthony, 288 
Sir Thomas. 288 
Browning. Charles. H., 

159 
Brovraing. Edward. 73, 

130 
Browning. Sr.. Mrs. Edw., 

283 
Browning. John, 527 
Bryan. George, 474 
Buck. William ,T.. 5.35, 

539. 
Buffs tin. Levin, 98 
Bullock. Anna E., 274 
Burge. .John, 25. 196, 

197. 2.32. 249. 253 
Burnyeat. John. 29, 240 
Burr. .John, 159 
Bury. Richard. 442 
Buse. Arthur, 204 
Buttall. Martha. 189 
Jonathan, 189 
Nathaniel. 185 
189 ^^™"'''' 1S8, 

Buzby. Mrs. Duncan L., 

289 
Cadwalader family. 107, 

109 
Cadwallader David ao 

Hugh, 276 
Cadwalader ap Evan, 267, 

271, 269, 301 
Cadwalader Rhys Lloyd, 

290 ■ ' ' 

Cadwalader Thomas 

Hugh, 111, 283 
Cadwalader. Dr. Ch. E.. 

74 
Cadwalader. Edward. 

107, .5.37 
Cadwalader. Gen. George, 

74 



[80O] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Cadwaladei-. Hannah, 73 
" John, 73, 74, 

77. 84. 109. 138. 190, 

192, 193. 275, 276, 280, 

283, 299. 457, 530 
Cadwalader. Gen. John, 

74 
Cadwalader. Judge John, 

74 
Cadwalader. John L., 74 
" Col. Lam- 

bert, 74 
Cadwalader. Margaret, 

96, 593 
Cadwalader. Mary, 73 
" Morgan.107 

" Rebecca, 73 

Richard M., 

74 
Cadwalader. Sarah, 107 
Thomas, 73, 

84, 122, 198, 271 
Cadwalader. Dr. Thomas, 

74 
Cadwalader. Gen. Thom- 
as, 74 
Campanius. Rev. John, 

.321 
Campanius. Thomas, 321 
Canby. Mrs. Edward T., 

284 
Caner. Harrison K., 133 

296 
Carew. Edmund de, 295 
" Sir Edgar de, 

295 
Carew. .John de, 295 

Nesta de, 295 
Carlisle. Abraham, 471, 

473 
Carpenter family, 146 
Carpenter. Samuel, 97, 

146, 222, 356, 357, 529 
Carpenter. Preston, 294 
Carpley. Mary, 218 
Cassel. Hernell. 275 
Casby. James, 2&3 
Cassatt. A. J., 444 
Castuer. Jacob. 449, 450 
Chadwiek. William, 429 
Chalklcy. Thomas, 72, 

275 
Chambers. Benj., 146, 

104. 196, 199 
Chambers. Colonel, 238 
Charles ab Evan, 163 
Charleton. Sir Edward, 

293 
Chase. Mrs. P. B.. 294 
Chattin. James, 574 
Chaworth. Sir Patrick, 

285 
Chorleton. Sir Edward, 

297 



Cherleton. Joan de, i93 
John de, 297, 
299 
Chew. Samuel, 74. 193 

WilUam, 193 
Chichester. Mrs. G. M., 

284 
Childs. Allen, 284, 300 

" George Wm., 165 

Chorley. John, 189 
Churchman. Mrs. C. J., 

294 
Churchman. John, 527 
Clapp. B. Frank. 130 
Clancy. Widow, 275 
Clare. Gilbert de. 297 

Richard de, 281 
Clark. Major, 466 

John. 171 
Clarkson. Thomas, 577 
Claypool. George, 420 
" James, 400, 

420 
Claypool. Joseph. 420 
Clayton family. .508 
Clement. .John B., 283 
Clothier. Isaac H., 587 
Cloud. William. 260 
Olubb. Rev. John, 584 
Coates. Edward H.. 133 
George M., 133 
Henrv T.. 133 
Joseph H.. 133. 
William M., 133 
Lt. William, 454 
Cobb. William, 428 
Cochran. George, 74 

Travis, 74.294 
" William. 74 

Major Wil- 
liam, 456 
Cochran. Wm. Greene, 74 
Cock. Peter, 68 
Cockshaw. Jonathan, 552 
Cofing. .Jacob. 275 
Cogshall. Elizabeth, 576, 

579 
Coke. Thomas, 347 
Coleman. .Jacob. 428 
Colket. George H., 1.33, 

296 
Collet. George. 201 
Collins family, 146 
Collins. .Jr., Plenry H., 

294 
Collins. Wm. M., 294 
Comfort. Howard, 73, 

190, 300, 284 
Compton. Capt. John. 64 
Conarroe. Mrs. G. M., 283 
Conway. Lady Anne, 591 
Cook. Francis. 100 
.Joel. 449 
" Willi.am, 98 

[601] 



Cooke. Richard. 214, 217, 

222 223 226, 228 
Cooke! William "w. J., 274 
Coopland. John, 98 
Coppoek. Jacob Jonathan, 

104 
Corson. Charles F., 73 
Joseph K., 73 
1" Robert B., 73, 

190, 284 
Corn. Richard, 214, 216, 

224, 226 
Corn. William, 216, 226 
Coulton. Lvdia, 455 
Cowpland. Caleb. 135 
Cox. Martha, 103 
Craffot. Thomas, 275 
Craven. Ann. 482 
Creakbeam. Philip, 264 
Cresson. James. 300, 420 

William, 73 
Croft. Samuel. 429 
Crosby. Richard, 178, 191 
Cross. Mrs. Arthur D., 

170, 289 
Grossman. Capt., 68 
Crothers. Mrs. Stevenson, 

190 
Cuarton. Richard. 149, 

257, 447 
Cuarton. William, 146, 

149, 257, 446 
Cully. Hugh, 1.30 
Cummings. A. B., 479 
Cuthbert. Thomas, 420 



d'Aregon. Princef=s. 283 
d'Audley. Hugh, 297 
David ap Evan, 213, 221, 

289 
David. Harvey Rees. 275 
David ap Rees, 200 
David. Anne. 22. 261 
Caleb, 164 
David, 164, 256 
Ebenezer, 163 
Elizabeth, 221 
Edward, 198, 224, 
226. 2.55. 271 
David. Ellis. .54, 55, 57, 
59. SO. 84. 97. lOo, 133, 
275, 387, 493 
David. Evan, 17.3. 488 
Harry, 221 
Hugh, 1.54. 164, 
220. 229, 256, 488, 594 
David. Janne, 263 

Jenkin, 86, 173 
Joan, 229 
.Jonathan, 164 
.John. Ill, 166, 
323, 490, 537 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



David. Katherine, 257 

Lewis, 153, 164, 
165, 166, 195, 197, 203, 
229, 232,, 249, 254, 256, 
258. 384, 391, 499, 515, 
582, 584 
David. Llewellyn, 173 
" Margaret, 96, 
108, 154 
David. Martha. 164 
" Meredith. 225 

Morgan, 227. 245 
Owen. 21. 22, 114 
Philip, 323 
Richard, 56 
Robert, 21, 54, 
55, 57. 58. 83, 84, 104, 
116, 120. 127. 208, 257, 
258, 261, 387. 421. 458, 
499, 506, 549, 570, 571 
David. ,Sarah. 221. 584 
Samuel. 164 
■ " Thomas, 147, 
179. 261, 275. 491, 561 
David. Treharn,204, 263, 
498 

William, 216, 

221, 259, 261 
Davie. John, 114 
Davies. Amos, 149, 151, 

152. 221 

Davies. David. 89, 117, 
149, 151, 175, 218, 230 
Davies. Edward. 312 
Ellis, 115, 152 
Evan. 149, 150 
" Katherine, 21S 

" Margaret, 33, 

55, 141, 145, 147 
Davies. Maurice, 84 
" Meredith. 551 

Mireck. 488 
Richard. 24, 25. 
29. 33, 104. 112. 127, 
149, 150. 151. 153. 174, 
177, 183. 185. 213, 227, 
249, 251, 255, 522, 524. 
532 

Davies. Robert, 371, 384 
Thomas. 146, 

222, 225, 226, 231 

Davies. William, 178, 
215, 217, 218, 223, 224, 
225 
Davids. David, 248 
Ellis. 532 
Meredith, 257 
Thomas, 78,555 
Davis. Benjamin, 253, 490 
" David, 84, 135, 
161, 240, 255, 561 



Davis. Ellis, 84 

Elizabeth, 84 

Evan, 215 
" Hannah. 594 
" Isaac. 451, 456 
" .Tane, 84 
" .Tames, 487 

.John, 275, 457 
" Katherine, 161 

Lewis, 204 
" Margaret, 142, 
149, 249 

Davis. Meredith, 225, 445 
Morgan, 202 
Owen, 319 
Richard, 124, 177, 
179, 249 

Davis. Robert, 47, 48, 79, 

82, 84 
Davis. Thomas, 84 

William, 158, 251, 

258. 583 

Day. , 260 

Day. John. 249 

" Richard, 73 

" Mrs. Richard H., 

300 
Deemer. Dr., 274 
de Ganay. Countessj, 294 
Deshler. David. 283 
Dewees. Lt. Samuel, 455 
d'lnvilUers. Mary. 274, 

285 

Dickinson. , 260. 

Dickinson family, 146 
Dickinson. Edward H., 

564 
Dickinson. .Tames, 98 

" Jonathan, 101 

John. 193, 

448, 449, 556, 558, 559, 

562 
Dickinson. Philemon, 74 
" Samuel. 193 

Sarah, 107 
Difeeuderffer, 532 
Dillard. Henry, K., 133, 

190, 296 

DUwyn. George, 475 
Dixon. James, 430 
Downing family. 473 
Downing. Jane. 212 
Sarah, 211 
Richard, 211 
Thomas, 211 
Thomasine, 211 
Dresel. John R., 133 
Drinker. Elizabeth, 464, 

475 
Drinker. John, 420 
Duckett family, 508 

[602] 



Duckett. Mary, 498 
Ruth, 506 
Thomas. 174, 
433, 436, 438, 498, 499, 
500, 503, 505, 506, 507, 
509, 510 
Duer. Mary Ann, 160 

Capt. William, 160i 
Dunbabin. Alice, 189 

Margaret. 189 
Samuel, 189 
Dunlap. Jr., Thomas. 283 
Durkee. Mrs. Augustus 

W., 294 
Dynham. Sir John, 288 
Edward David Ellis, .300 
Edward ap John, 64, 85 
Edwai-d Jonos David. 216 
Edward ap Rees. 63, 64, 

79, 311, 445, 446. 462 
Edward ap Richard. 253 
Rlisha David Owen. 298 
Elizabeth William Bow- 
en, 593 
Elizabeth William Owen, 

126. 591 
Ellis ap Hugh. 213, 384,.! /J" 
Ellis ap Rees. 234 
Ellis Rees Lewis, 287, 

298 
Evan ap Edward, 89 
Evan Gwilim Tohan, 288 
Evan Han-v Morsran. 319 
Evan ap Hugh, 267, 268, 

276 
Evan ap John, 289 
Evan .Tolin Evan, 166 
Evan John William. .56. 
137. 213. 215. 220, 571 
Evan ap Rees, 136 
Evan ap Rees G5ch, 109 
Evan Robert Lewis, 155, 

301 
Eardley. Jeremi.ah, 452 
Evan Thomas Llovd. 299 
Evan ap William, 213, 

215, 221 
Evan ap William Powell, 

152. 498. 531 
Eckley. .Tohn. 124. 171, 
256, 350. 354, 356. 357, 
.361. 363, 481, 512 
Eckley. Sarah. 171 
Edge. .Tacob, 1.35 
Edmundson, William. 270 
"Edward Jones & Co.," 

63 
Edward, David. 220 

Evan. 85. 517, 
571 
Edward. Hugh, 224 
.Tane. 135 
,Tohn, 47, 48, 
91, 222, 499, 517 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Elizabeth,, 269, 



Edward. Thomas. 85 

William. 47, 48, 
54. 55. 89, 91, 138, 369, 
384, 499, 570 
Edwards. Alexander, 161, 

261 
Edwards. Edward, 262, 

257 
Edwards 

271 

Edwards. Ellen, 246 
Evan, 21, 
" Humphrey, 

260, 261 
Edwards. Lowry, 262 

Margaret, 107, 
108, 161, 262 
Edwards, Martha,. 161 
Morris, 490 
Peter, 204, 
213, 217 
Edwards. Sarah, 245 

Thomas, 161, 
173, 224, 323 
Edwards. William, 54, 
71, 79. 100. 174, 178, 
179, 248, 4.39 
Ehret. Alvin, 192 
Ellet family. 146 
Ellet. Charles, 294 
Elliott. C. J., 489 
Ellis ap Hugh, 224 
Ellis Rees Lewis, ISO 
Ellis William Hugh, 301 
Ellis family, 146 
Ellis. Ann, 235, 239 
" Bridget, 239 

Cadwalader. 96, 97, 
100, 101, 133, 198, 271, 
493, 387 
Ellis. David, 80 

Edward, 220, 271 
Eleanor. 245, 287 
Elizabeth, 82, 239, 



240 

Ellis. 

202, 

245, 
Ellis. 

220, 
Ellis. 

239 
Ellis. 



201, 
245, 

488, 



Ellis. 82, 152, 154, 

204, 218, 227, 244, 

255, 256, 258 

Ellin, 115, 154, 

240 

Evan, 152, 221, 

Francis, 319 
Gemima, 132' 
Griffith, 532 
Henry, 256 
Humphrey, 196, 
215, 218, 232, 244, 
253, 258, 391, 435, 
503, 582 



Ellis. .Tane, 225, 462 

John. 451 

Lyddie, 220 

Lidia, 488 

Margaret, 2.39, 461 

Mary, 1.32, 498 

Morris. 224 

Kachel, 239, 244, 
245 
Ellis. Rebecca, 239 

Robert, 106, 225, ' 

235, 240, 461, 498 
Ellis. Rowland, 49, 82, 

95, 97, 106, 115, 124, 
134, 1.35, 149, 150, 151, 
152, 153, 154, 156, 157, 
180-192, 20Q, 213, 214, 
215, 219, 220, 221, 224, 
225, 231, 233, 247, 251, 
256, 264, 285, 287, 296, 
298, 309, 314, 318, 317, 
316, 354, 369, 387, 458, 
461, 462, 480, 481, 498, 
503, 511, 515, 516, 528, 
552. 573. 594, 595 
Ellis. .Ir., Rowland, 215, 
231, 2.34, 2.35, 239, 309 
Ellis. Thomas, 25, 82, 87, 
90, 97, 120, 124, 153, 
154, 196, 197, 199, 202, 
204, 215, 221, 224, 225, 
227, 231, 240, 249, 254, 
250, 251, 255, 256, 260, 
261, 314, 318, 371, 498, 
499, 509, 513, 582, 592 
Ellis. William, 152, 221, 

2.39, 256 
Ellis. William Robert, 

275 
Bmlen family, 146 
Emlen. Ellen, 294 

" Jr., Mrs. George, 
294 
Emlen. Samuel, 475 
Endon. David, 233 
England. Philip, 390, 439 
Erwis. William W., 287 
Espen. James, 4.52 
Evan John Evan, 166 
Evan John William, 132 
Evan. David. 177. 191, 
203, 219, 221, 224, 230, 

236, 258, 276, 371 
Evan. Edward, 216 

GritBth, 72, 79, 
105, 106, 136. 137 
Evan. John, 89, 154. 302 
Morgan, 233 
Philip, 215, 218, 
258, 371, 498 
Evan. Rees. 49. 72, 79, 
83, 97, 99, 105, 106, 
115, 122, 129, 136, 137, 
154 



Evan. 


Robert, 107, 112, 


126, 


247, 267, 268 


Evan. 


Stephen, 256 


tt 


Thomas, 267, 268 


Evans family, 161, 233 


Evans. 


AUce, 161 


" 


Allen, 287 


" 


Caleb, 215, 514 


" 


Cadwalader, 107, 


159, 


240, 268-92, 284, 


287, 


302, 324 


Evans. 


Charles, 163 


ti 


Daniel, 199 


" 


David, 152, 158, 


215, 


216, 447 


Evans. 


Deliah. 216 . 


n 


Edmund C, 287 


" 


Edward, 229, 


319 




Evans. 


Eleanor, 105 


" 


Elizabeth, 84, 


161, 


240 


Evans. 


Evan, 158, 215, 


216, 


222, 323, 528, 583 


Evans. 


Evans.' 240, 319 


'• 


Glendower, 287 


" 


Gwen, 215 


*' 


Hartman K..287 


" 


Howland, 287 


" 


Hugh, 76, 78, 


107, 


134, 135, 158, 173, 


180, 


222, 225, 237, 264, 


284, 


291 437, 483. 555, 


561, 


577 


Evans. 


Jane, 134, 161, 


222, 


240, 289 


Evans. 


, John, 152, 214, 


215, 


216, 218, 221, 225, 


226, 


231, 2.39, 240, 246, 


249, 


250, 251, 255, 256, 


258, 


275, 287, 371, 433. 


473, 


486, 509, 532, 582 


Evans. 


.Touathan,.-425 


" 


Joseph, 476, 549 


" 


Joshua. 215 


" 


Katharine, 447 


" 


Lowry, 76, 225, 


284 




Evans. 


Manlius G.. 287 


" 


Margaret. 240 


" 


Mary, 161, 199, 


215, 


216 


Evans. 


Nehemiah. 456 


*' 


Oliver, 476 


" 


Owen. 223, 268, 


284 




Evans. 


Peter. 455 


" 


Rees, 120, 532 


ti 


Rowland, 240 


" 


Robert, 21, 84, 


106, 


107, 129, 130, 222, 


225, 


263, 268, 284, 324 


Evans 


. Sarah, 161, 447, 


271, 


284 



[6o;^] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Evans. Sidney, 158 

Stephen, 222, 

223. 227, 22S, 384, 498, 

571, 595 
Evans. Susanna, 76, 158, 

291 
Evans. Thomas, 122, 133, 

264, 268. 284, 324, 577 
Evans. William, 438 

Wm. Elbert, 287 
Eves. George, 264 
Ewer. David, 391 
Faddery. Richard, 230 
Fairman. John. 371 
Faulkner. Cap't., 440 
Fergusson. Mrs. A. O., 294 
Filler. Andrew, 420 
Finch. Sir Heneage. 591 
Piucher. Francis, 438 
Finchner. John, 386 
Finger (widow), 503 
Fish. John, 249 
Fishbourne. William, 103 
Fisher familv, 189 
Fisher. Francis, 386 
" Mary, 115 

Sydney G., 343 
Thomas, 189, 190 
Fitzalau. John, 288 

Sir Richard, 

29.3, 285, 288 
Fitzalan. Sir Thomas, 

288 
Fleming. Charles. 98 ", 
Fletcher. Gov. Benj., 32S, 

392 
Ffloid. Robert. 96, 134 
Ford. Philip, 241, 388 
Jr., Philip. 404 
Robert, 260 
Fornari. Marquise, 283 
Forster. B.. 174 
Ffoulke of Gwynedd, 298, 

301, 302 

Poulke. Amos. 76, 158, 

291 
Foulke. Caleb, 76, 274 
Edward, 224, 

247, 2fi'i, 268. 276, 300, 

302, 596 
Foulke. Ellen, 274 

Frank, 73, 133, 
190, 300 

Foulke. G. Rhyfedd, 300 
Hugh, 273 
Jane, 302 
Linford, 300 
" Margaret, 240 

" Mary, 175 

" Owen, 176 

" J. Roberts, 300, 

559 



Foulke. Susanna, 240 
Dr. Richard, 73, 
300 
Foulke. Thomas Lloyd, 

300 
Poulke. Wm. Parker, 300 
Pox. George, 23, 28, 110, 
189. 241, 242. 346, 347, 
409, 411 
Pox. James, 258 

Mrs. de Grasse, 283 
Francis. Mrs. Tench, 294 
Franklin. Benjamin. 521 
William, 521 
Prazier. Alexander, 420 

Joseph, 420 
Freeborn. Susanna, 575 
Prishmuth. Mrs. J. 0. 

W., 283 
Fritz. William, 562 
Puller & Holme, 266 
Fuller. Jacob, 267 
Joseph, 267 
Furby. Thomas, 242 
Purness family. 260 
Galloway. Samuel, 97 
Gallowell. EUzabeth, 98 
Gardner. Peter. 438 
Gardiner. Mrs. W. H., 

294 
Garrett. Evan, 391 
John, 130 
Thomas, 134, 
491 
Garrett. William. 197 
Garrigues. Samuel M., 

201 
Gee. John, 267 

" Thomas, 174 
Georsre. Amos, 87. 451. 

556 
George. David. 107, 130, 
174, 256, 437. 438, 483, 
517, 554. 556. 585 
George. Edw,ard. 87, 100. 
129, 437, 43S, 452, 456, 
483, 558 
George. George, 257 
Hugh, 567 
Jane. 100 
Jesse, 100, 158. 
4o2, 456, 567, 475, 517, 
585 
George. John, 86, 561, 

585 
George. John M., 559, 

564 
George. Joseph, 558. 585 
Rebecca, 100 
Richard, 78, 100, 
121, 438, 483, 555. 561 
George. ,Tr.. Richard, 129 
Thomas, 452, 
556 

[604] 



George. (Widow), 576 

William, 490 
German. John, 215, 226, 

391 
Gibbons. John, 260 
Gillis. David, 456 
Gilpin. Thomas, 469 
Grlaisaer. Joseph, 575 
Glenn. Edward A., 77,160 
Lewis A., 160 
Lewis W., 160 
" Col. Thomas A., 
160, 284, 360 
Goldsborough. Louis M., 

294 
Good. Elizabeth. 350 

John, 275 
Goodin. Thomas. 98, 591 
Goodwin. Robert, 262 
Goodson. John, 104, 219, 

308 
Gorman. .John, 384 
Govett. Annesley R., 289 

Robert A., 289 
Graeme. Dr., 104 
(Sraff. Andrew. 440 

Jacob, 440 
Graham. John. 74 
Gray. John, 451. 475 

Samuel. 283, 451-^ 
Greaves. Charles, 429 
Green. Robert. 354 
Grey. Elizabeth de, 293 
Sir Henry de, 29.3, 
297 
Grey. Sir John de, 293, 

297 
Griffith ap John, 121 
Griffith John Evan, 96, 

1,36, 137 
Griffith. David, 226 

Edward, 22, 54, 
55, S3, 96. 97. 105. 118, 
179, 257, 276, 593 
Griffith. Edmund, 261 

Evan, 121, 275, 
539 
Griffith. Griffith. 454 
Harrv. 490 
Hugh, S3, 96, 
97, 115, 105, 262, 267, 
268. 505 
Griffith. James. 262 
Jane, 498 
.John. 121, 130 
" Katherine, 261, 

264 
Griffith. Lewis, 201 
" Mary, 115 

SibiU. 286 
Snsau. 161, 261 
Thomas, 54, 55, 
252. 275, 310 
Griffith. Sir William, 286 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Griffiths. John, 592 
Griscom. Clement A., 141, 

294, 2S3 
Griscom. Lloyd C, 294 
Gronow. Lewis, 452 
Growden. Grace, 365 
Joseph, 229 
GrufEydd ap Cynan, 294 
GrufEydd ap Einion, 290 
Guest. John, 82, 420 
Gummere. Amelia M., 591 
" Dr. Francis 

B., 587 
Gummere. Rich. M., 294 
Gunter. Thomas, 295 
Gwyn. Hugh, 286 
"Gynn." Dr. Thomas, 178, 

179 
Habard. David. 203 
Habart. Ann, 203 
John. 203 
William, 203 
Hacker. Edward, 294 
Hagy. Hannah, 429 
Haines. Mrs. Franklin T. 
" Humphrey, 432 

-John, 493 
Mrs. K. B., 294 
Hallins. Dr., 182 
Hallowell. Thomas, 420 
Hambright, 474 
Hamilton. William. 579 
Hancock. George W., 559 
Hand. General, 440 
Haney. Daniel. 218 

Hugh, 218 
Hank. Jane, 269, 284 
John, 271, 284 
Nancy, 284 
Sarah, 269 
Hankinson. Samuel E. 

D., 74 
Hanmer. Griffith de, 301 
Hanson. .John, 531 
Hardv. Jr., Jlrs. Wm. 

J.. "294 
Hardiman. Abraham, 165 
Hannah, 199 
Harper. Henry S., 133 
Harris. Daniel, 161, 230 
Hugh. 161, 230 
" Joseph, 145 

Harrison family, 146 
Harrison. Mrs. C. 0., 294 
" James, 222, 

260 
Harrison. ,Tohn, 211 
" Joseph, 119 

Richard, 237. 
437, 458, 462 
Harrison. Jr., Richard, 
460 



Harrison. Sarah, 576 

Thomas, 460 
Harriss. Thomas, 319 
"Harriton" farm, 236, 461 
Harry ap Rees, 222 
Harry family, 230 
Harry. Abigail, 230 

Daniel, 225,230, 
249 
Harry. Evan, 152, 218, 
219 224, 228, 229, 230, 
236, 243, 251, 257, 262, 
264, 323, 446, 447, 503, 
540 
Harry. Henry, 230 
Hugh, 230 
.John, 230, 235 
Lewis, 230 
Rees, 81 
Samuel, 438 
William, 230 

Hart, 474 

Hart. John, 386 

Nicholas, 481 
Harvey. Edward. 468 
Hastings. John, 203 
" Jonah. 86 

Havard. David, 203, 222, 

257 
Havard. Dinah, 490 

John, 122, 173, 
256, 488 
Havard. Mary. 222 
Havid. John, 122 
Haxett. Michael, 186 
Haves. Benjamin, 76, 158, 

199 
Haves. Elizabeth. 199, 

269 
Hayes. Hannah, 198, 269, 

271, 594 
Hayes. Issat (Iseult), 

198, 270 
Hayes. John, 163, 198 
" .John Russell, 15 

Jonathan, 82, 
196, 514 
Haves. Joseph, 198, 2.32 
Marv, 198 
Richard. 158. 
165, 166, 195, 198, 204, 
215, 217, 2.32, 256, 258, 
391, 488, 491, 528, 584, 
594 
Haves. .Jr., Richard, 197, 

108, 270 
Hayes. 3d, Richard, 198 
" Capt. Thomas, 
95 
Hearne. Sarah, 498 
Heath. Susanna, 272 
Height. Jonathan, 178 
Hendericks. Garret, 565 

[605] 



Henderson. John G., 480 
Hendrie. Evan, 391 
Henten. Rees, 196 
Herbert. Morgan, 153 
" Sir Richard, 

296, 297 
Hesson. William, 482 
Heston. Abraham, 443 

Col. Edward, 
443 
Heth. Susanna, 272 
Hibbard. Josiah, 159 
Hickok. Mrs. F. N., 294 
Hicks. Elias, 409, 585 

William, 274 
Higginson. Rev. John, 

186 
Hill. Richard, 146, 515 
Hilling. Jone, 197 

Henry, 197 
Hinton. .Tames, 86 
Hiltzheimer. Jacob, 439, 

440 
Hodnut. Garret, 487 
Hoffman. Edward F.. 74 

Jacob, 456 
Hogg. Ann. 81 
Holcroft. Elias, 186 
Holgate. Matthew, 455, 

498 
Holgate. William, 456, 

562 
Holand. Alianore, 293 

Sir Thomas, 297 
Holland. Benjamin, 456 
John, 124, 201 
.Joshua, 201 
Robert, 448, 
449, 561, 555, 556 
Hollowell. Elizabeth. 98 
Holme. Benjamin. 582 

Thomas. .35, 41, 
50, 52, 67, 254, 260, 
349, 367 
Hone. John, 74 
Hood. Jr.. John, 420 
" Jonathan, 77 . 

Hooding. Joan, 503 
Hoopes. Daniel, 491 
Horner. Benjamin, 420 
Hoskins. Martha, 103 
Mary, 158 
" Dr. Richard, 

158 
House. Mary (Wright), 

521 
Howard. William, 517 
Howe. General, 466, 467, 

470, 492, 579 
Howel Uoyd David, 301 
Howel. David, 208, 275 
Francis, 202, 
227, 254 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Howel. Mary, 164 

WilUam, 164, 
199, 201, 203, 499, 503, 
506, 509 
HoweU. Daniel, 244 
David, 323 
Edward. 166 
Elizabeth, 203 
" Francis, 200, 

245, 371, 3S4, 595 
Howell. Humphrey, 532 
" Jeukin, 106 

John, 49 
" Jonathan. 211 

Joseph, 158 
Margaret, 202, 
203, 581 

Howell. Mary, 164. 203 

Mireck, 166 

Philip, 147, 148, 

207, 20S. 216, 260, 261 

Howell. Kees. 502, 548, 

549 
Howell. Rowland. 200 
Samuel, 135 
Susan, 203 
Thomas, 166, 
202, 203, 229. 254, 257, 
318. 319, 509 
Howell. William. 164, 
169, 195, 196. 198, 204, 
226, 227, 230, 245, 256. 
219, 222, 354. 258, 358, 
371, 384, 391, 510, 582 
Hubbs. John, 240 
Huber. Mrs. Stiles. 294 
Hudson. Susanna, 159 
AVilliam, 159 
Hugh Cadwalader Rhys, 
300, 302 

Hugh ap Edward, 276 
Hugh John Thomas, 21. 

70. 89, 106, 108, li:7, 

498 
Hugh ap Robert. 96. Ill 
Hugh Thomas David. 301 
Hugh ap William. 276 
Hugh. Agnes. 115 
Ann. 220 
David. 121. 196, 

250, 255, 256, 257. 447. 

550 

Hugh. EUis, 171, 481 
Evan, 267, 268 
John. 261, 267, 
268 

Hugh. Owen. 323 

Robert, 257, 276 
Roger. 256 
Sibill, 2S6 



Hughs. Ellin, 300, 302 
Ellis, 302 
Jane, 302 
John. 153 
Martha. 488 
Mary. 90 
Richard, 438 
Sarah, 153 
" William,' 302 

Hughes. Charles, 161, 
262, 263 

Hughes. David. 204, 275 
Elizabeth. 323 
Hugh, 490 
Humphrey, 21, 
113 

Hughes. John, 324. 485 
Joseph. Ill 
Mary, 261 
Morgan, 323 
Richard, 323. 
442 

Hughes. Roger, 98, 214, 
216, 221. 222, 224. 226, 

228, 591 

Huidekoper, Mrs. H. S., 

287 
Hulse. Mrs. Charles F., 

190. 294 
Humphries. Benjamin, 

142 
Humphrey ap Hugh, 150, 

234 
Humphrey Hugh Howel, 

286, 298 
Humphrey Howel Evan, 

297 
Humphrey John Lloyd, 

293 
Humphrey. Ann, 153, 

154, ISO, 220. 234, 287, 

298 
Humphrey. Benjamin. 81, 

82. 122. LnO, 151, 153, 

180, 181, 203. 220, 230, 

258 

Humphrey. Charles, 152, 

153 
Humphrey. Daniel, 152, 

153, 174. 181. 204, 220, 

229. 244. 251, 255. 256 
258. 488 

Humphrey. David, 154, 

219. 530 
Humphrey. Edward, 153 
Elizabeth. 

152, 153, 154, 498 

Humphrey. Gabbatha, 152 
Jane, 151, 
287 

Humphrey. Joan, 152 
[606] 



Humphrey. John. 49. 70, 
95, 124. 141, 150, 151, 

152, 153, 155, ISO, 199, 
214, 218, 219, 220, 221, 
224, 234, 235, 243, 256, 
267, 268, 287, 324, 371, 
384, 481, 498, 526, 582 

Humphrey. Jr., John, 

203 
Humphrey. Jonathan, 153 
" Joseph, 151, 

180, 220 
Humphrey. Joshua, 153 
" Kiatherine, 

220. 247 
Humphrey. Lydia, 152, 

153. 154 
Humphrey. Mary, 203 

" Morris, 83, 

97 
Humphrey. Owen, 49, 

97. 115. 134. 151. 153, 

220, 226, 235, 247, 286, 

491, 532 
Humphrey. Rebecca, 81, 

154, 220, 283. 498 
Humphrey. Reginald, 154 

Richard. 49, 

95. 150, 151. 152, 213, 

214. 220, 256. 287, 498 

Humphrey. Robert, 152 

" Samuel, 81, 

82. 95, 150. 1.52. 153. 

155. 181. 234. 245. 287 
Humphrey. Solomon, 153 

Tabitha, 151 
Thomas. 153, 
180 

Humphrey. William, 23, 

220, 532 
Humphreys family, 95. 

150 
Humphreys. Aun. 122 
" Benjamin. 

173, 245, 257, 262, 438 
Humphreys. Charles. 429, 

466 
Humphreys. Daniel. 81, 

192, 193, 196, 200, 231, 

287 
Humphries. Edward. 438 
" Elizabeth, 

193 
Humphreys. Hugh, 262 
John, 156, 

203. 227. 229, 350, 509, 

515, 516, 504 
Humphreys. Joshua, 37, 

287 
Humphreys. Lvdia, 81, 

245 
Humphreys. Owen, 152, 

157 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Humphreys. Rebecca, 285, 

287 
Humphreys. Samuel, 193, 

437 
Humphreys. Thomas, 481 
" Wm. Penu, 

190, 287 

Hunt. Benjamin, 82 
Hunter. Mary, 216 
John, 216 
Hurry. Daniel, 249 
Ingels. Richard, 208 
Ingram. Walter, 253 
Jackson. Edwin A., 274 
" Mrs. Levin H., 

284 
Jackson. Mrs. R. B., 294 
James. David, 214, 217, 

222. 223, 227, 231, 256, 

438, 498 
James. George, 217 

Howel, 176, 177, 

191, 259, 498 
James. James, 217 

John, 22 
Josiah, 487 
Lewis, 241 
" Margaret. 214, 

217, 223, 227 ' 
James. Mary, 217, 227, 

228 
James. Mordecai, 135 
Philip, 176 
Samuel, 217 
Sarah, 198, 217 
Thomas, 164, 
217, 323, 487 
James. William, 191, 

487 
.Tance John Morgan, 219 
Januey. Robert M., 559, 

587 
Jarman. ( .Tarmain. Jar- 
mon, Jermin, Jermon, 
Jormon ) . Edward, 275 
Jarman. Elizabeth, 226 
Slargaret, 226, 
255 
Jarman. John, 216, 226, 
249, 256, 258, 358, 498, 
503, 509. 571, 582 
Jarman. Sarah, 226 

Thomas, 252 
Jenkin ap Havard, 289 
Jenkin ap levan, 290 
Jenkins. Chas. F., 300 
Elinor, 226 
" Howard M., 

266, 300 



Jenkins. Margaret, 201 
Martha A., 284 
Stephen, 201 
William, 25, 

86, 198, 200, 2.32, 241, 

249, 253, 254, 258, 261, 

371, 358, 510, 580 
Jennings. Samuel, 101 
John & Wynne, 100, 175, 

255 
John ap David, 112 
John David John, 21 
John David Thomas, 196, 

199, 275 
John Evan Edward, 231, 

255 
John ap Edward, 21, 48, 

55, 70, 71, 78, 83, 84, 

86, 88, 261, 262, 269, 

271 
John ab Evan, 121, 163, 

166, 225, 261, .301, 289 
John ap Howel, 150 
John ap Howel-goch, 286 
John ap John. 22, 24, 25, 

27, 28, 29, 33, 104, 110, 

120, 124, 149, 1.50, 181, 

175-181, 249, 409 
John ap Lewis, 298 
John Lloyd Wynne, 293 
John ap Owen, 391 
John Robert Cadwal- 

ader, 92 
John Robert David, 111 
John Robert Ellis, 257, 

520 
John Robert Matthew, 

565 
John Thomas ap Hugh, 

21 
John Thomas Peggy, 475 
John Thomas Thomas, 

173 
John ap Thomas, 22, 25, 

33, 41, 45, 46. 47, '54, 

58. 59. 64, 99, 109, 114, 

115, 116, 129, 137, 138, 
155, 157, 158, 161, 240, 
255, 261, 270, 299, 312, 
362, 363, 444, 493, 552, 
592 

John ap William, 131 
John. Cadwalader, 262 
Catherine, 133 
David, 83, 96, 105, 
241 

John. Elizabeth, 96, 115, 

116, 593 

John. Evan, 49, 96, 163 
Gainor, 49, 96, 
155 157 

[607] 



John. Griffith, 54, 57, 
59, 83, 97, 101, 102, 
103, 105, 115, 132, 137, 
138, 156, 257, 498, 532, 
539, 541, 550 
John. Hugh, 47, 95,128 
James, 173 
Jonett, 111 
" Lewis, 173 

Margaret, 21, 96, 
131, 301, 498 
John. Rees, 49, 517 

Robert, 21, 224, 
268, 276 
John. Thomas, 99, 114 
'' WiUiam, 72, 95, 

106, 133, 267, 268, 302, 
461 

Johnes. Jonett, 154 
Sarah, 216 
Johns. Arthur S., 74 
Priscilla, 283 
Richard, 283 
Thomas, 259 
Johnson. Rev. Richard, 

236, 239 
Jones, of Llwyn-Gwrill, 

517 
Jones, of London. Ed- 
ward, 219 
Jones, of "Mt. Ararat," 

542 
Jones. Anne, 121, 161, 

225, 447 
Jones. Aquilla, 77 
" Awbrey, 156 

" Benjamin, 448 

Beula, 77 
" Cadwalader, 54, 

59, 100, 122, 275 
Jones. Christopher, 425 
Daniel, 99, 256 
David, 86, 97, 

107, 115, 121, 154, 163, 
165, 174, 198, 203, 222, 
225, 236, 249, 269, 270, 
439, 490, 532, 552 

Jones. Dr. Edward, 25, 
33, 41, 42, 45, 46, 47, 
53, 55, 58, 60, 63, 64, 
78, 79, 83, 92, 104, 107, 
116, 117, 120, 121, 124, 
130, 138, 147, 155, 158, 
161, 172. 191, 193, 199, 
203, 231, 245, 249, 250, 
257, 261, 263, 264. 270. 
291, 311, 312, 313, 368, 
385, 387, 421, 445, 447, 
493, 499, 503, 509, 516, 
520, 540, 549, 551, 555, 
556, 565, 570, 576-577, 
592 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Jones. Edward, 73, 98, 
148, 174, 208, 214, 216, 
222, 225, 226, 439, 454, 
556, 557, 561, 591 

Jones. Jr.. Edward, 54, 
55, 57, 58, 71, 77, 78, 
80, 83, 88, 89, 91 

Jones. Elizabeth, 77, 91, 
92, 102, 122, 154, 447 

Jones. Elizabeth M., 190 
Elizabeth W., 

269, 272, 273 

Jones. Ellen, 121, 225, 

270, 447, 593, 594 
Jones. Ellis, 214, 216, 

221, 223 
Jones. Evan, 73, 77, 89, 

91, 120, 132, 134, 135, 

264, 323, 387, 438, 447, 

493, 498, 537, 561, 594 
Jones. Bzekiel, 77 

Florence, 580 

" Fred. Khineland- 

er, 74 
Jones. Gabriel, 89 

Gainor, 129, 154, 

594 
Jones. Gerrard, 122, 

135, 153, 425, 446, 447, 

561 
Jones. GrifHth. 121, 136, 

174. 260, 275, 317, 318, 

319, 362, 385, 439 
Jones. Hannah, 76, 158, 

201. 490 
Jones. Henry, 249 

Hugh. 48, 54, 56, 

57, 59, 90. 01. 106, 108, 

216, 246, 225, 257, 300, 

371, 385, 487, 500 
Jones. Jr., Hugh. 216 

Isaac, 269, 272, 

271 
Jones. J. Awbrey, 77 

Jacob. 77, 130, 

15S, 475, 487. 488, 561 
Jones. James. 198, 269, 

256, 271. 553, 554, 556, 

557, 594 
Jones. .Tr., James, 458, 

556 
.Tones. .Tr., James Lewis, 

130 
Jones. .Tane, 76, 216 
Janne. 135 
John, 73. 76. 77, 

78, 121, 135, 146 165, 

224, 309, 318, 319, 452, 

554 
Jones. Jonathan, 70. 73, 

75, 76, 77, 81, 102, 121, 

155, 156, 158, 173, 192, 
199, 264, 291, 447, 456, 

485, 557, 577, 594 



Jones. Jr., Jonathan, 

77, 121 
Jones. Jonett, 154 

Joseph, 225, 312 

K^therine, 102, 

122, 158, 198, 246, 261, 

593, 594 

Jones. Lewis, 121, 158, 

257, 561, 594 
Jones. Lowry, 76, 77, 
122, 134, 247, 291, 312 
Jones. Lydia Griffith, 507 
Jones. Rev. Malachi, 4S7 
Jones. Margaret, 135, 

252 
Jones. Martha, 70, 74, 

283 
.Tones. Mary, 73, 76, 

103, 158, 199, 503 
Jones. Matthew, 163, 

256, 259, 275, 455 

Jones. Moses, 319 

.Tones. Owen, 76. 130, 

335. 156, 158, 291, 425, 

478, 490, 561, 576, 577 

Jones. Col. Owen, 76. 

156, 528 
Jones. Jr., Owen, 468 
Paul. 122, 558 
" Penelope, 77 

Peter, 237. 257 
Price, 369, 385 
Priscilla, 102 
" Prudence, 77 

" Rebecca, 76. 130, 

158 
Jones. Rees, 48, 56, 106, 
107, 131, 132, 138, 161, 
216, 257. 289, 291, 298, 
385, 387, 498 
.Tones. Richard 54, 57, 
15. 132. 134, 135, 137, 
222, 225, 231, 247, 319, 
387, 456, 517 
Jones. Robert. 54, 59, 
60, 81, 84, 91, 102, 103, 
117, 121. 129, 132, 136, 
153, 156, 164, 165, 173, 
180, 222, 225, 229, 247, 
255. 257, 262, 267, 268, 
270, 437, 444, 446. 448, 
467, 493, 529, 538, 540, 
550, 551, 552, 553, 557, 
592, 594 
Jones. Jr., Robert, 447 
Roger, 146 
Rufus M., 591 
Salvenas, 77 
Samuel, 319 
Sarah, 70, 92, 
135, 594 

[6G8] 



Jones. Sidney, 571 

Silas, 447, 448 
Solomon, 149, 
151 
Jones. Susanna, 76 
Tacy, 448 
Thomas, 21. 54, 
59, 73, 77, 80, 86, 91, 
100, 107, 118, 120 129, 
136, 141, 142, 148, 149, 
158, 192, 214, 216, 217, 
224. 249, 257, 262, 309, 
362, 364, 447, 493, 498, 
409, 537. 539, 549. 551, 
556, 594 
Jones. Walter. 118 

William. 47, 48, 
57, 99, 104. 106, 136, 
181, 268, 500 
Jones. Woodruff, 294 
Jordan. Jr., Francis, 289 
Dr. John W., 
169, 289, 595, 555 
Jordan. Walter, 289 
Junkin. Thomas, 490 
Keen. John, 419 
Keite family, 508 
Iveite. James, 595 

Martha, 179 
Keith. Mrs. Charles P., 

284 
Kelly. John, 107 

William, 204,232, 
253 
Ifenderdine. Margaret, 

226 
Kenderdine. Tliomas, 226 
Ifensey. Elizabeth, 283 
Kinchner. Francis, 174 
Kinsey. David, 214,217, 

249 
Kinsey. John, 249, 527 
Kissack. Robert, 468 
ICite. Jr., Isaac, 452 
Krickbaum. CoL, Con- 
rad, 457 
K:vnaston. Humphrey, 

293 
liynaston. Margaret. 293 
" Lady Mary, 

296 
Kynaston. Sir Roger, 

293, 297 
Lafayette. General, 450, 

467 
I^andreth. Jr., Mrs. B., 

294 
Lardner. Lvnford, 454 
Latch. Rudolph, 130 
La%vrence. Ann. 142 

Daniel, 164, 
166, 244, 256, 488 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



nLawrence. David, 87, 165, 

198, 199, 200, 204, 218, 

227, 245, 258. 358, 384, 

503, 510, 582, 584 

Lawrence. Eleanor, 87, 

245, 584 
Lawrence. Henry, 86, 
87. 164, 165, 166, 245, 
246 
Lawrence. Margaret. 245, 
Mary, 158 
Rachel. 245 
" Rebecca, 87 

Thomas, 87, 
225, 245 
Lawrence. Wm. Thos., 

86 
Leacey. Col., 238 
Leacock. John, 130 
Le Fevre. Mary, 283 
Lee. Elizabeth C, 284 
Henry. 284 
J. Collins, 284 
Richard Bland. 
284 
Lee. Richard Henry, 284 
Robert E., 284 
Robert N.. 481 
Zaccheus C. 284 
Lehnman. Thomas, 223 
Le Strange. Lord John, 

299 
Levering. Anthony, 433, 

561 
Levick. 

274 
Levick. 

274 
Levi<!k. 

273 
Levick. 

274 
Levick. 



Anna Lucile, 

Charles Mather, 

Bbenezer, 272, 

Elizabeth W.. 



Florence, 274 
Henry Lewis, 

274, 285 
Levick. Dr. James J., 

19. 24. 2T, 109, 117. 

161. 272, 275 
Levick. Jane Foulke, 274 
Levick. Lewis Jones, 

22. 109. 114. 118, 268, 

269, 274, 285, 363, 593 
Levick. Louise Jamart, 

274, 285 
Levick. Mary Sabina, 

274, 285 
Levick. jamuel .Tones, 

269, 272. 273. 285, 569, 

573 
Levick. Jr., Samuel .J., 

274 
Levick. Susanna Mor- 
ris, 569 



Levick. Suzanne, 274, 

285 
Levick. William E.. 274 
" William Mau- 
love, 273 
Lewis ap David, 25, 33 
Lewis .John Griffith, 298 
Lewis Robert Owen. 298 
Lewis Sion Griffith, 234 
Lewis. xVbraham. 2.32 
Alice, 196 
" Amos, 165, 204 
" Ann, 165, 253 
" Benjamin. 230 
Betty, 203 
Cadwalader, IIS, 
593 
Lewis. Caleb. 164 

Daniel, 226, 435 

David, 152, 164, 

217, 230, 232, 256, 

263, 391, 488, 490, 



199, 

258, 

581 

Lewis. 



Davis Levis, 247 
" Edmond, 165 
Eleanor. 230' 
Eliza. 480 
Elizabeth, 165, 
197, 201 
Lewis. Ellen Ann, 165 
Ellis, 122, 240, 
271, 298 
Lewis. Enoch, 105 

Evan, 165, 178, 
452, 475, .502 
Lewis. Francis, 323 
" George, 323 

George H., 247 
Griffith. 152, 180, 
221 
Lewis. Hannah, 166 
" Mrs. Hy. Car- 
vill, 300 

Henry, 165, 173, 
195, 197, 199, 200, 204, 
215, 221, 2.30, 253. 255, 
256, 258, 269, 270, 318. 
366, .371, 433. 488, 499, 
507, 508 
Lewis. .Tr., Henry, 196, 

197 
Lewis. Howell, 1.32 

Isaac, 122, 451 
" .Jr., J. Howard, 
133, 296 
Lewis. .James. 24, 08, 
165. IGG. 196, 271, 487 
Lewis. .Jr.. James, 197 
Jesse, 165 
John, 195, 196, 
200, 204, 229, 256, 258, 
384, 582 

[609] 



Lewis. 

196, 

Lewis. 



271 

Lewis. 

197, 
Lewis. 

197, 
Lewis. 

230 

Jjewis. 



247 

Lewis. 

152, 

220, 

271, 

Lewis. 

224 

I-^ewis. 



164, 

245; 

Lewis. 



Jr., John, 195, 
258 

.Jonathan, 164 
Joseph, 166, 
Josiah, 229 
Katherine, 166, 

Jjevi, 165 
Lewis. 165, 178, 

502, 505 
Lydia T., 165 
Margaret, 173, 

203, 503 
Martha. 164 
Mary, 164, 178, 

Morgan, 106 
Nathan, 165 
Osborn G. L., 

Owen, 115, 1.32, 
154. 1,80. 198, 219, 
223, 224, 235, 243, 
298 

.Jr., Owen, 219, 
236 

Peregrine, 165 

Philip, 229 

Ralph, 95, 163, 
196, 204, 21S, 2.32, 
256, 258, 261, 498 

Rees. 298 

Robert, 132 

Ruth, 164 

Samuel, 164, 176, 
198, 200, 232, 256, 
391, 488 



197. 

265, 

Lewis. .Jr.. Samuel, 176 
S.imnel B., 247 
Sarah. 229, 1G6 
Stephen, 229 
Thomas, 203 
Trvon, 165, 583 
William, 95, 164, 

165, 106, 199, 218, 237, 

247, 250, 258, 461, 462, 

502, 504 

Lewis. Jr., WiUiam, 165 
Liddom. Abraham, 451 
Ijightner. 146 
Lincoln. Abraham.. 284 

Thomas, 284 
Lippincott. Howard W., 

559 
Lippincott. Mary, 170 
" Restore, 597 

WiUiam, 420 
Lisle. Henry. 420 . 
Litzenberg. Simon, 4?5 
Ijivingston. Mrs. John 

n.. 287 
Llevellyn ap Edneyf d, 

290 



/■ 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Llewellyn. Alexaader, 

98 
Llewellyn. Andrew, 271 
" Ann, 153 

David, 151, 
173, 202, 204, 232, 245, 
488, 584 
LlewellYn. Griffith, 153, 

173, 248, 289, 437 
Llewellyn. Hannah, 201 
John, 204 
Mary, 153, 
173, 584 
Llewellyn. Maurice, 196, 

530, 581 
Llewellvn. Morris, 153, 
199, 202, 201^204, 227, 
229, 232, 249, 255, 258, 
263, 371, 391, 584 •.. 
Llovd. Charles, 24, 33, 
23, 29, 52, 55, 75, 80, 
124, 131, 141, 142, 145, 
149, 150, 183, 185, 249, 
292, 293, 294, 576 
Lloyd. Judge David, 146, 
147, 148, 219, 225, 228, 
229, 447, 514 
Lloyd. David, 129, 147, 
165, 216, 247, 251, 260, 
298, 317, 318, 364, 405 
Lloyd. Deborah, 183 
Edward, 241 
Elizabeth, 143, 
248 
Llovd. Evan, 248, 256, 

290, 293 
Lloyd. Francis, 202, 222, 

227, 245 
Uoyd. Oainor, 247 
Gwen. 247 
Hannai, 247 
Howard W., 184, 
247 
Lloyd. Col. Hugh, 247 
Jane, 248 
.John, 72, 79, 
105, 106, 136. 137. 143, 
214, 217. 218, 222, 223, 
226. 228, 248, 261, 293, 
452 
Lloyd. .Joseph. 222 
" Katharine, 293 
" Lauucelot, 481 

Dowry, 135, 247, 
264 
Llovd. Mrs. Malcolm, 

294 
Lloyd. Mary, 222 

Rev. Morgan, 23, 
189 
T/lovd. Patience, 146 

Roes, 84, 135, 
247 



Lloyd. 
248 

Lloyd. 
105, 
137, 
257, 

Lloyd. 



Richard, 135,247, 

Robert, 72, 79, 

106, 122, 1.34, 135, 

138, 156, 246, 247, 

264, 290, 291 

Sampson, 149 

Sarah, 247, 248 

Wm. Supplee, 

. Gov. Thomas. 52, 
75, 80, 99, 124. 141, 
145, 147, 149, 155, 
183, 188, 210, 219, 
237, 242, 292, 294, 
317. 318. 319, 350, 
352, 356, 357, 402, 
445, 447, 458, 493 



247 
Lloyd 
55, 
143. 

174: 

225! 
298: 
351, 
406 

Lloyd. Thomas, 47, 48, 
56, 86, 134. 136, 137, 
138, 151, 222, 246, 247, 
290, 291, 292, 296, 364, 
366 
Lloyd. Jr., Thomas, 247, 

248 
Lloyd. William, 153, 248 
Llwyd. Thomas, 311 
Lobdale. Isaac, 420 
Lodovicus ap Robert, 114 
Logan. Judge James, 147, 
191, 208, 268, 308, 347, 
398, 405 
Longworthy. Sarah, 107 
Lort. Elizabeth. 142 
Robert, 261 
Sir Roger, 142 
" Sampson. 142 
Lower. Thomas, 347 
Lowell. Mrs. Jas. A., 

294 
Lowell. Jr., Mrs. John, 

294 
Lower. Thomas, 275 
Lownes. Hugh. 315 
Jane, 315 
William, 419 
Lowry. GryfEyth Vaug- 
han, 300 

John Evan, 231 
Col. Philip, 456 
Loxley. Benj.imin. 419 
lAikeus. .Tawood, 73, 190, 

284, 300 
Lutterall, Narcissus, 413 
Jlarearet .John William, 

131 
Mary David Evan, 289 
Maurice ap Edward, 109 
Maurice Humphrey Mor- 
gan. 115 
McCall. Archibald. 74 
Col. Geo. A., 
74 

[<ilO] 



JlcCalla. John, 420 
McClanachan. Blair, 420 
'■ Charles, 

461 
McClanachan. Naomi, 

401 
McClanachan. Robert, 

401 
McClanachan. Robt. H., 

294 
McDowell. Samuel R., 

465 
McKean. Judge Thomas, 

470, 478 
KcKean. Mrs. Thomas, 

289 
McMichael. Mrs. C. B. 

294 
McMichael. Lt. James, 

462, 465 
MacVeagh. Edmund. 260 
Wayne, 216 
Mackay, 474 

Macpherson. Eneas, 343 
Mahan. Mrs. Alfred T., 

287 
Malin. Mary. 211^ 

" Joseph, 464 
Maltravers. Eleanor, 288 
Lord John, 
288 
Mansfield. Mrs. Walter 

D., 302 
Marchant. Thomas. 197 
Maris. Elizabeth. 178 

George, 82. 159 
Hannah, 159 
" .Jesse, 159 

" John. 165 

Richard. 178 
Markham. Dep. Gov. 
Wm., 67, 69, 347, 356, 
392 
Marks. James. 487 
Marriot. Samuel, 104 
Marsh. Richard. 174 
Marshall. Christopher, 

466. 469 
Marshall. 3Irs. N. B., 

294 
Marshall. Samuel, 133, 

247 
Maruin. Edward. 174 
Mather. Charles. 269, 

284. 287 
Mather. Rev. Cotton, 

17. 186 
Mather. Isaac. 274 
" Joseph. 274 

Mary. 269 
" Richard. 274 

Samuel. 136 
" Susanna M., 

209, 274, 285 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Matlock. Josiah, 419 
Matthews. Col., 77 
Maud. Margery, 1S9 

Joshua, 183, 189 
Maule. Daniel, 452 
Maultsby. John, 394 
Maurice. David, 200, 

580, 538 
Maurice. Edward, 118 

Ellis, 213,215, 
243 
Maxwell. John, 452 
Mavs. John, 166 
Medlieot, 124 
Medlicot. Daniel. 595 
Meigs. Mrs. Arthur V., 

73, 1.30, 190, 2S1 
Mele. Brvan, 242 
Mellor. John, 29 
Mendenhall. James, 211 
Meredith ap Howell, 293 
Mieredith. Daniel, 231, 

371, 595 
Meredith. David, 81, 
214, 216, 217, 222, 223, 
224, 228, 249, 255, 256, 
258, 384, 391, 432, 433, 
445. 487, 498, 509, 582 
Meredith. Jesse, 452 

John, 224, 
275 
Meredith. Katherine, 224 
Marv. 224 
Meredith. 224 
Richard, 224 
" Samuel, 74 

" Samuel R., 74 

Sarah, 81, 

224, 445 

Merritt. Mrs. .T. S., 294 
Meteer. Ann, 212 

Thomas.. 211 
" Jr., Thomas, 

212 
Methey. William, 449 
Michinar. John, 275 
Middleton. Thomas, 420 
Miles. Griath. 251 
" James, 499 
Phoebe, 223 
Richard, 214, 

217, 223 
Miles. Ruth, 223 

" Samuel, 217. 222, 
223, 231, 258. 499 
Miles. Tamar, 223 
Miller. Ann, 442 
Jane, 163 
John, 28 
" S. Bevan, 74 

Millington. John, 249 
Mills. Samuel, 249 
Mirick. David, 264 



Molineaux. Henry, 176 
Moutfort. Simon de, 289 
Montgomery. William, 

81 
Moore. Alfred, 559 
" Amos, 5(>2 
Arthur, 559 
Deborah, 145 
Edward, 226, 
252. 499 
Moore. Hannah W., 283 
" James, 554 

John. 149, 257, 
386, 490. 538 
Moore. Mordecai, 97, 

122. 146, 183, 249 
Moore. Richard, 182, 183, 

215, 216, 222, 224, 229, 
371 

Moore. Thomas. 121 
, " WiUiam. 174 
Morce. Mary, 197 
Mordant. William, 249 
More. John, 218 
Morgan. Abel, 454, 457 
Blanch. 218 
" Cadwalader, 

47, 48, 54. 56, 57, 79, 
80, 95, 101. 105, 106, 
lOS, 125. 127, 128, 132, 
133, 1.35, 137, 138, 216, 
257, 275, 289, 291, 298. 
384, 498, 500, 505, 530, 
549, 556 
Morgan. Daniel. 437 
^' David, 197. 227, 

257 

.Jr., David, 227 
Edward, 218, 

Elizabeth, 227, 

Evan, 227, 425 
Hannah, 216 
" Humphrey, 218 

James, " 106, 

216, 221 
Morsjan. .Tane, 79 

John, 106, 107, 

215, 216, 221, 226, 227. 

248. 250. 258, 275. 554 

Morgan. ,Tohn Price. 77 

Joseph, 248 

Katherine, 218, 

227 

Morgan. Lewis, 107 

Owen, 218, 257, 
498, 533 
Morgan. P.ees. 295 
Sarah. 216 
Tliomas, 263 
William, 22, 
S3. 89, 96. 105, 263 



248 
Morgan. 

263 
Morgan. 



Morice. David, 215 
Morris. Anthony, 528 
" Jr., Anthony, 

171 
Morris. B. W. Rt. Rev., 

294 
Morris. Daniel, 159, 222i( 

231 
Morris. David, 198, 203, 

215, 225. 583 
Morris. Edward, 120 

Ellen, 271, 284 

Ellis, 23, 152. 

154, 219, 220, 224, 236; 

239. 243 

Morris. Evan. 269, 272, 

499 
Morris. Gainor, 272, 499 
" Geo. Anthony, 

420 

Henry, 294, 585, 
586 
Morris. Israel, 174. 439 
" James, 457 

.Tane, 22 
John, 252, 271, 
284, 301, 302 
Morris. Joseph, 425 
.Joshua, 269 
Levi, 294, 430, 
459, 460, 461 
" Lewis, 111 

Mary, 203, 269, 
274 
Morris. Morris, 269, 272, 

528 
Morris. Sarah, 461 

Thomas, 141, 
149 
Morson. Mrs, J. B., 294 
iiJirtime)'. James. 173, 

203 
Mortimer. Margaret, 

173 
Morton. Robert. 466 

Mrs. T. S. K., 
294 
Mnllineux. Nathaniel, 

391 
Murrey. Col., 238 
Musgrove. \ Alice, 197 
Musgrave. J Gaynor. 488 
" Lewis, 197 

" Margaret, 

197, 198 
Musgrove. Peregrine, 200, 

232, 241, 243. 271 
Mu.sgrove. William, 170 
Musser. John. 408 
Nancarro. John, 76 
Naylor. Marv, 285 
Nealson. 148 
Neall. Frank L., 294 ' 



[611] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Needham. Dr., 182 
Neill. Henry, 420 
Neilson. Lewis Win- 

throp, 274 
Neilson. Winthrop C, 

274, 285 
Ne.ss. Koberv, 402 
Newlin. ElizabetLi, 298 
Nicholas. Edward, 133, 

252 
Nicholas. Thomas, 237 
" Thomas Jones, 

819 
Noble. Kichard, 592 
NoWit. Mrs. C. B.. 294 
Nordant. Gapt., 492 
Norris. 146 

Hamiah, 237, 
458 
Norris. Isaac, 101, 146, 
237, 294, 405, 40G, 458 
Norris. Mary, 145 

J. Parker, 294 
Thomas. 130 
Odell. Edward, 449 
Ogdeii. Cadwalader E., 

287 
Ogden. David B.. 287 
" Gouveneur M., 

287 

.John, 159 
William, 159 
Oliver. David, 499 

Evan. 214. 217, 
224, 249. 419, 499 
Oliver. Winifred, 252 
Orms. ( Richard, 178, 
Orme. 1 179. 191, 
215, 503, 
509, 510, 
529, 530, 
582 
Osborne. Elizabeth, 2G0 
Charles. 14S 
Peter, 247 
Orin. William, 174 
Owen ap Evan, 22, 155, 

267, 2GS 
Owen ap Hujjh, 286 
Owen Evan Kobert 101 
Owen Hugh Evan, 81 
Owen Humphrey Hugh, 

179 
Owen Glendower, 290, 

300 
Owen. Prince of So. 

Wales, 280, 294 
Owen. Anne. 49. 2G2 
Captain, 318 
David. 532- 
" Edward, 47, 48,' 

55. 72. S3, r-ri, 103, 142, 
IGO, 213, 421 



Owen. Elinor 104 

Ellin, 21, 9G, 155, 
283 
Owen. Elizabeth, 49, 
134,' 158, 179, 220, 2G1, 
287, 498 
Owen. Esther, 158 

Evan, 22, 75, 77, 

83. 105, 148, 140, 154, 

155, 157, 220, 280, 283, 

446, 529. 532, 5.37 

Owen. Gainor, 22. 76, 

158, 199, 291 
Owen. Dr. Griffith, 25, 
83. 104, 160, IGl, 177,- 
188, 191, 219, 317, 318. 
319, 385. 387, 421, 493, 
529, 587 
Owen. Jr., Dr. Griffith, 

104, 
Owen. Griffith, 55, 75, 
lOL 19^, 220, 245, 261, 
368, 371, 378, 383, 384. 
498, 503; 509 
Owen. Hannah. 159, 160 
" Harry, 235 
" Humphrey. 49, 
115. 132, 152, ISO, 220, 
221- 
Owen. Jane, 101. 136, 
155, 160. 240, 280, 283, 
286, 594 
Owen. Janne, 96 

John. 49, 84. 104, 
1.32, 151, 157. 159, 180, 
220, 257, 287 
Owen. Joseph, 309 

" Joshua, 150, 151, 
157, 180. 231, 257, 287, 
498, 520 - 
Owen. Lewis. 98,' 104, 
115, 152, 154. 160, 213, 
-215, 220, 224. 236, 243, 
532,- 591 
Owen. Mablv. 81 

Owen, 159. 280. 
2S3 
Owen. Peter, 21 

" Rebecca, 151, 
154, 157. 498 
Owen. Richard, 149, 

151, 152. 180, 221 
Owen. Robert. 21. 25, 
70. 75. 76. SO. 83, 96, 
97. 09. 101. 102. 104, 
105, 109. 111. 116. 118, 
120, 121, 132, 138, 146. 
149. 151, 1.52, 154, 157, 
17G, ISO, 220, 221, 227, 
235, 246. 257, 2G3, 280, 
283, 2S5, 287, 291, 317, 
318, .319, .383, 384, .385, 
391, 392. 447, 498, 503, 



528, 532, 537, 539. 549, 
556, 577, 593, 594 
Owen. Jr., Robert, 159 
Roland, 49, 115, 
119, 132, 152, 154, 198, 
213, 215, 224. 219, 236,. 
243, 271, 532 
Owen. Sarah, 104. 161 
Sidney, 158 
Tacy, 159 
Thomas, 95, 2.34,, 
258, 262, 264, 487 
Owen. William, 125, 

126, 323 
Owens. John, 156 
Painter. Elinor, 204 
" George. 103, 

199, 230, 244, 499, 506. 
509 
Painter. Susanna, 103 
Paiste. James L., 559 
Palmer. Martha, 77 
John, 130 
Thomas, 130 
" William. 77 

Pardo. Letice. 197 
Pardoe. William. 386 
Park. Thomas, 442 
Parker. John, 176 
Parr. Elizabeth, 189 
Parrish. Jr.. Edward, 

283. 284 
Parrish. John. 284 
Parrv. David, 514 
" ■ Edward. 222 

Rev. Harry, 113 
Henry. 143, 222 
Hugh, 222 
John, 1G5, 488,, 
514 
Parry. Llewellyn, 210, 
" Owen, 175. 177 

Robert. 222 
Thomas, 216, 

217, 222, 226 
Parry. Jr., Thomas, 222 
Parsons. Thomas, 174 

Paschall. , 81 

'■ Benjamin, 420 

Hannah, 283 
Col. Jonathan, 



455 

200, 455" 



Thomas, 135, 



Paschall. Jr., Thomas, 

201 
Paschall. William, 247, 
Pastorius. Era. Dan., 

145, 345, 565 
Paul. James. 122, 447 

" .Tolm, 131 

Joseph. 576, 579 
Peale. Mrs. Oh. W., 294 



[612-] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Pearee. Joseph, 4S0 

Pearson. Katherine, 173, 

203 

Pearson. Mary, 173, 203 

" Robert. 173 

Thomas, 173, 
203 

Pearsall. William, 74 
Pechin. Col. William, 

457 
Pemberton. Abigail, 201 
Phineas, 201 
Penn. Granville Jolm, 

485 

Penn. Guilielma, 173 
Thomas, 489 
" William, 17, 22, 

98. 173. 267 
Penn. Jr., William, 124, 

173, 422, 506 
Penn-Gaskell. Mary, 485 
Penn - Gaskell. Thomas, 

485 
Penuington. John, 124, 

422 
Penuock. Christopher, 

124, 201 
Pennock. Nathaniel, 201 
Pennypaeker. Henrv C 

289 ' 

Pennypaeker. Isaac R., 

289 

Pennypaeker. Samuel W., 
170, 289 

Penrose. Sarah, 274 
Perot. Mary William, 

133, 296 
Perrot. John, 197 
Peter. Rees, 218, 220 

371, 498, 510 
Peters. William, 174 
Phey. Thomas, 533 
Philip ap Evan, 221 
Philip ap Ivor, 290 
Philips. Mrs. C. S., 283 
Phillips. Griffith. 490 
" .lane, 222 

Philip, 222 
251 

Phillips. Phoebe, 251 
Philler. Mrs. W. R., 283 
Phillipin. Marv. 199 
Pickering. Charles, 188 
Pinmard. Marie. 160 
Plantagenet. Edmund, 

Pope. Henry E., 294 
Porter. Como. David, 
365 

^ 23r465 ^'°" '^"''"''' 



Potts. Arthur, 74 
David, 262 
" Thomas, 255 

Poultney. Mrs. A. E., 

283 

Powel. / David, 36, 51, 

PoweU. t 52. 71, 98, 

148, 173, 228, 

231,. 2.32,'., 249, 

250, 254, 255, 

367, .368, .377, 

498, 519, 591 

Powel. Elizabeth, 150', 

28G. 298 
Powell. Ellis, 235 

Evan, 2.52, 499 
Gainor, 498 
.Tohn, 150, 252, 
319 
Powell. .Joseph, 254 

Robert, 227,4.38 
Rowland, 198, 
215, 217. 244, 245 

Thomas, 252, 
254, 499 
Powell. William, 174, 
219, 249, 391, 392, 4.39 
Poyer. John, 153, 200, 
204, 229, 232 241 249 
253, 255 
Prees. Ann, 161 

David, 146, 200, 
256 
Prees. Edward, 79, 291, 

311 
Prees. James, 98 

John, 161. 44G 
Mary, 161 
Phebe, 161 
Rees, 161, 172, 
255, 445 
Prees. Richard, 1.33, 

161, 229, 291 
Prees. Sarah, 161 

William, 114 
Preeson. Capt. William, 

161 
Preston. Rachel, 145 
Richard, 87 
Samuel, 146 
Price. David, 146, 200, 
215, 225, 228, 257, 498 
Price. Edward. 78, 79, 
81, 107. 133, 264, 445 
447, 448, 449, 478, 554 
^ 556, 561, 570, 571, 585 
Price. Edward R., 559 
Ellis, 81, 2.34, 
287, 298 
Price. Esther, 82 
Evan, 136 
II Francis, 584 

Gwenllen, 200 
229 

[613] 



Price. Hannah, 132, 133, 

20O, 291 
Price. Henry, 229 

Isaac, 229, 257, 
487 
Price. .Jr., Isaac, 229 

Jane, 81, 82, 132 
James, 213, 215, 
225, 228, 2,52, 323 
Price. .lohn, 81, 200, 

449, 456, 556, 561 
Price. Joseph, 457, 448, 

555, 556, 562 
Price. Katherine, 115, 

220 
Price. Margaret. 229 

Mary, 107, 229, 
576 
Price. Philip, 220, 237, 

257, 481 
Price. Rees. 78, 81, 82 
130, 153, 204, 445, 551, 
552, 561 
Price. Richard, 83, 96. 
105, 111, 118. 1?.?,. 593 
Price. Rowiaud, 204 
Prichard. Edward. 25, 
171, 249, 253, 350, 438, 
481 
Prichard. Elizabeth, 163, 

164, 166, 204, 2.32 
Prichard. Katherine, 163, 

164. 160. 232 
Prichard. Rees, 291 

Thomas. 48, 
56, 83, 96, 97, 1.32. 136 
166 

Priest. Edward, 82 
Pris. Katherine, 203 
Prothero. Evan, 259, -391 
Pugh. Ann, 224, 225 

David, 146, 203, 
224, 251, 255, 257, 267 
Piitrh, Edward, 267 
Eleanor, 248 
Elizabeth, 225 
Ellin, 225 
■' Ellis, 213. 215, 
218. 2:H, 24.^, 267, .302 
317, 487, 498. 505, 526 
Pugh. Evan, 224, 268 
'' Henry, 225, 248, 
.i64 
Puffh. Hugh, 225, 237 
514 ' ' 

Pugh. James, 251 255 
261 ' 

Pugh. Jane, 225 
.Tesse, 225 
Job, 225 
'■ .John. 302, 491, 
594 
Pugh. Katherine '>oo 
225, 248 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Pugh. Moses, 225 

Richard, 275 
Robert, 96, 125, 

126, 225, 591 
Pugh. Roger, 225 

Thomas, 225, 275, 

526 
Pugh. William, 225 
Puleston. John, 286, 301 

Robert, 300 
Pusey. Caleb, 206, 388, 

529 
Pusey. Owen, 177 
Quandrill. Kanuah, 212 
" Capt. .John, 

212 
Rees John William, 47, 

79, 00, 106. 122, 131, 

133, 136, 161, 247, 261, 

264, 289, 291 
Rees ap Rees, 226 
ReinauUt Gruffydd Rhys, 

290 
Rhys ap Tewdwr, 294 
Richard ab Evan, 289 
Richard ap Evan, 166 
Richard Gryffyth Rhys, 

107, 133 
Richard Rees Jones, 56, 

58 
Richard Rhys Grywwyth, 

79 
Richard Robert Thomas, 

126 
Richard ap Thomas, 25, 

33, 147, 148, 207, 249 
Risiart Thomas Rhys, 312 
Robert ap Oadwalader, 

269, 271 
Robert ap David, 48, 63, 

64, 79, 82 
Robert David Lloyd, 291 
Robert ap Evan, 267 
Robert ap Griffith, 290 
Robert Griffith Evan- 

goch, 299 
Robert ap Hugh, 98, 125 

267, 268 
Robert John Evan, 115 
Robert Owen Humphrey, 

103 
Robert Owen Lewis, 239, 

298 
Robert Thomas Morris, 

126 
Roger ap John, 24, 28 
Riindiilph. Beuiamin. 420 
RatcliEf. Richard, 98 
Rawle. Wm. Henry, 74 
Rawlins. David, 97 
Read. Harmon Pum- 

pelly, 74 



Read. John, 74 

Judge John M., 
74 
Redman. John, 101 



Reece. 
Rees. 
Reese. 
II 

229, 

Reese. 

^§' 
80, 

138, 

239, 

298, 

499 

541, 

564 

Rees. 

173, 

Rees. 



56, 
105, 
198, 
594 
Rees. 

503, 

Rees. 

154, 
Rees. 

490 

Rees. 

215, 

Rees. 



264 

Rees. 

a 

229, 
Rees. 
Rees. 

594 
Rees. 

199, 

257, 
Rees. 
Reeve. 

294 



f Daniel, 215, 229 

David, 196, 215, 
241, 438 

"Edw^d, 22, 47, 
53, 57, .58, 60, 71, 
81, 82, 102, 105^ 
146, 154, 216, 223, 

257, 264, 289, 291, 
312, 446, 447, 448, 
503, 517, 520, 540, 
549, 551, 553, 556, 

Eleanor, 215 
Elizabeth, 152, 

215, 287 
Ellin, 49 
Ellis, 49 
Evan, 47, 48, 55, 

59, 70. -83, 96, 97. 
122, 127, 152, 154, 

216, 256, 271, 532, 

Griffith, 490 

Gwen, , 49, 215, 
580 
Henry, 215 

Hugh. 115, 152, 
220, 221, 532 
Humphrey, 225 
'Isaac, 215, 229, 

Jane, 291 

John, 56, 173, 

223, 226, 229, 490 

Lettice, 229 
Lewis, 215 
Mabley, 571 
Margaret, 215 
Mary, 229 
Miriam, 215, 229 
Philip, 215, 229 
Rebecca, 229 
Rees, 81, 252, 

Richard, 54, 220 
Samuel, 199, 215, 

371, 488 

Sarah, 229 
Sidney, 122, 129, 

Thomas. 164, 176, 
215, 217, 229, 256, 

258, 261, 490 
William, 452, 490 

Mrs. Benj. C, 



Reeve. Mrs. Richard H.. 

294 
Rider. Tryall, 175, 176, 

179, 191 
Reigert. Adam, 440 
Rpinald. Humphrey, 152, 

180, 220 
Reynald. Ann, 105 
Reynolds. Humphrey^ 

49 
Rhoads. James, 159 

Dr. Samuel^ 
294 
Rhoads. Thomas, 452 
Rhodes. Adam, 391 
John, 391 
Khoderick. David, 149, 

150, 257 
Rhoderick. Evan, 255 

Thomas, 142 
Rhythereh. \ John, 141, 
Rhydderch. / 142, 149, 
150, 498, 
508 
Rytharch. Rees, 199 
Rhydrth. Sarah, 584 
Rhydd. John, 149, 150 
Rice. John, 498 
Richard. Abijah, 452 
Richard. John, 82, 163, 
164, 232 258, 259, 261, 
319, 498, 584 
Richard. Maud. 498 
" Morris, 262 

Robert, 220 
Rowland, 108, 
257, 275, 540. 567 
Richard. Thomas, 47, 48 
Richards. Bridget, 161 
Hannah. 132, 
161 
Richards. John, 161, 

261, 457 
Richards. Lewis. 164 

Lt. Peter, 454 
Susan. 161 
Thomas, 198, 
271 
Richardson. Charles, 73, 

133, 190, 296 
Richardson. Joseph, 170 
" Samuel, 159, 

170 

Ridgway. Charles. 133 
Right. Henry. 249 
Rightei-. John, 561 
Ringgold. Adm., Cadw., 

74 
Ritchie. James, 454 
Roades. Adam, 1.0S 
Rhode. Adam, 2GS 
Roades. Adam, 217 



[614] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Kobb. Henry B., 74, 
.190 

Eobert. Evan, 267, 2G8 
" Ellis, 275 

Oainor, 498 
Griffith, 154, 
220, 552 

Robert. .Tane, 115, 154, 

155, 225 
Robert. .Janne, 220 

•John, 101, 198, 
225, 226, 271 
Robert. Lewis, 220 

Katherine, 86, 
117, 498, 593 
Robert. Margaret, 154, 

220 
Robert. Morris, 101 
Roger, 225 
Theodore, 220, 
245 
Roberts. Aaron, 107 

Abel, 107, 216, 

251, 256 

Roberts. Alban, 129, 131 

]] Algernon, 130, 

Col. Algernon, 

130, 455, 456, 568 

Roberts. Algernon S., 

130, 283 
Roberts. Dr. A. Sidney, 
130 
_,Roberts. Ann, 131, 177. 
180, 225, 266 
Roberts. Awbrey, 103 
'I Benjamin, 130 

David, 558 
Edward. 100, 
103, 130, 154, 180, 490, 
517 

Roberts. Jr., Edward, 

562 
Roberts. Elizabeth, 129. 

151, .319 
Roberts. Ellis, 107, 225, 
251. 262 . ' ' 

Roberts. Evan, 107 

• xaiiior. 47. 56, 
70. 84. 86. 95, 96, 106. 
107, 125 126 
Roberts. George B., 73, 
130. 133. 190. 206, 480 
Roberts. George T., 130 
Hannah, 180 
Hugh, 21, 25. 
47, 49, 53, 54, 57, 59, 
60, 70, 80, 80, 84, 85, 
86, 89. 95. 96, 103, 110 
116, 117, 119, 120, 122 
12,5, 1.S4, 136, 1.37, 1.38 
147, 148, 150, 154, 155 
1.56, 160, 166, 170, 176, 
207, 208, 219, 234, 241 



246, 257, 261, 262, 266, 
280, 283, 284, 317, 318, 
348, 368, 371, 374, 3S3 
384, 385, 387, 391, 421 
425, 433, 439, 445, 447 
498, 500, 506, 509, 510, 
515, 517, 529, 549, 550, 
556, 533, 562, 571, 591, 

Roberts. Isaac, 130, 126, 
283 . , , 

Roberts. .Tane, 84, 155, 
219, 269 

Roberts. Jesse, 457 

Job, 269, 272, 

285 • . . 

Roberts. John, 25. 72, 
78, 89. 90. 95, lOl', 102, 
103, 105, 107, 108, 124 
125, 130, 132, 1.34, 136 
138, 151, 153, 156, 158, 
174, 175, 178, 179, 200, 
212, 219, 213, 214, 215 
216, 221, 224, 225, 245 
257, 261, 262, 269, 27l' 
272, 275, 287, 317, 3711 
384, 387, 439, 451, 503, 
509, 517, 520, 530, 538 
539, 540, 541, 543, 550, 
5.53, 554, 555, 556, 557, 
561, 563, 568, 573, 574, 
595 

Roberts. Jr., John, 76 
129, 1.30, 180, 247, 269 
272, 284, 562 

Roberts. .3d., John, 247 
Jonathan, 130, 
458, 460 

Roberts. Joseph, 180, 

456 
Roberts. Katherine, 96, 

107, 127 

Roberts. Margaret, 84, 
129, 239 

Roberts. Martha, 73 
Mary. 284 
Matthew, ISO, 
490 

Roberts. Morris, 275 

Moses, 106, 
537, 5.39, 552, 567 

Roberts. Owen, 53, 54 
58, 262. 102, 103, 122 
129, 170, 173, 177, 180, 
225, 229, 237, 247 447 
537, 538, 540, 550, 562 

Roberts. Percival, 130 

Roberts. Phebe, 122 

Phineas, 129, 
131 

[615] 



Roberts. Rachel 107 
" Rebecca. 180 

Rees, 129, 131 
Richard, 126, 
127, 225, 283 

Roberts. Robert, 53, 54, 
58. 80, 84, 102, 106, 
122, 129, 130, 156, 158 
173, 180, 283, 246, 257, 
437, 445, 446, 447, 537, 
551, 553, 561 

Roberts. Roger, 83, 96, 
97, 105 ' ' . 

Roberts. Sarah, 212 

Sidney, 131, 
447, 553 

Roberts. Tacy, 130 

Thomas, 265, 
456 
Roberts. Titus, 131 

William, ISO, 
247, 256, 257, 261, 456 
Robmson. John, 562 

283 '''■:_''''■ ''■' 

Roger. John, 225, 271 
Ross. Charles W., 74 
Rotheroe. f Rees, 195. 
Rothers. \ 199, 204, 526 
Roules. B., 249 
Rouse. John, 347 

Nathaniel, 347 
Rowe. Grace, 200 

William, 196, 
200, 244 

Rowen. Evan, 241 
Rowland Edward Hum- 
phrey, 235 
Rowland. Ann, 154 

Mrs. E. K., 
294 
Rowland. Henry J., 74 
" Hugh, 132 

Thomas, 254 
Rowles. Bertha, 244 
Royce. Mrs. Ch. C., 2S3 
Rudyard. Thomas, 2.55 
Russell. Elizabeth, 274 

John, 274 
Rutter. Samuel. 76 
Sandiford. Ralph, 265 
Samuel Humphrey Hugh, 

81 
Samuel. Daniel, 49 
" Hugh, 216, 250, 

251, 261 
Samuel. John. 438 
" Joseph, 49 

Lydia, 49 
'I Margaret, 216 

Rebecca, 49 
Sanburn. Daniel, 9S 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Sanders. Henry, 253 

William, 104 
Saunders. Paul, 509, 510 
Scarlett. John, 153 
Schley. Cadwalader, 74, 

" William. 74 

Schrew. George N., 74 
Scotharu. Ann. 82 
Scothern. Lewis, 562 
Scotson. George, 174, 

439 
Scott. 474 

" Mrs. Lewis A.. 
283 
Scott. William, 98 
Scourfield. Maurice, 196. 

232 
Scull. Frances, 461 - 
Sellers. Christopher, 420 
Hannah, 247 
" Samuel, 247 

Sarah, 247 
Shaner. William, 510 
Shank. Benjamin, 481 
Sharlow. William, 119, 
121, 124, 174, 207, 208, 
255, 491 
Sharpless. Benjamini, 

420 
Sharpless. Blanche, 219, 

533 
Sharpless. Isaac, 17, 

372, 487, 591, 
Sharpless. William, 261 
Sharswood. George, 420 
" James, 419 

Shaw. Mrs. D. F., 283 

Samuel, 389 
Sheetz. Francis, 429 
Shenkin. William, 567 
Shepherd, 241 
Shippen. Edward, 191 

William, 420 
Shober. Samuel L., 74 
Shoemaker. 146 

Beniamin, 
419 
Shoemaker. Jonathan, 

420 
Shone. Hugh, 391 
Short. Adam, 188 
Sibill Hugh Gwvn. 150 
Simons. John, 203, 249 
Simpson. .Tames, 578 
Simson. .John, 174 
Sines. Eli, 212 

John Henry, 212 
Thomas, 212 
Sinkler. William. 173 
Sion. Edward, 567 
Sixmith. Bruen, 189 
Ester, 1S9 
William, 189 



Sixsinth. Lucien, 176 
Sixsmith. Bryan, 185 
Skone. Margaret, 197 

" James, 197 

Skurfield. Maurice, 196 
Sky. William, 65 
Smedley. Hannah, 192 
Smith. Abraham L., 73, 

190, 245, 283 
Smith. Benj. H., 20, 73, 

190 245, 283 
Smith. Benj. K., 294 

Mrs. Chas. E., 

294 

Smith. Ch. Perrin, 294 

" Francis. 145, 

147 

Smith. Dr. George, 73, 

161, 534, 539 
Smith. George, 575 
" Henry, 197 

John Jay, 294 
Llovd P., .354 
Mary. 197 
Michael, 453 
Thomas, .391 
William, 145, 
174, 391, 439 
Snead. Richard. .386 
Snowden. Isaac, 420 

John, 420 
Somerset. Henry. 288 
Southworth. Alice, 189 
John, 189 
Mary, 176, 
179, 189, 191 
Sparhawk. Ch. W., 

289 
Spencer. John, 420 
Spray. Christopher, .391 
Springet. Herbert, .347 
Spruce. John, 437, 438 
Stadleman. Jacob, 476 

William, 130, 
264. 455, 483 
Stafford. Elizabeth, 220 
Sir Ralph, 297 
Richard, 220 
" .Jr. Richard. 

220 
Stalker. Thomas, 211 
Stampford. Thomas, 503 
Stanley. Sir Edward, 

293 
Stanley. Elizabeth, 293 
" Sir Thomas, 

286 
Stanley. Sir William, 

286 
Stanley. Thomas, 293 
Stansbury. Warren M., 

300 
Starr. Mrs. Louis, 284 

[616] 



Steel. 202. 

James, 171, 177 
Steinmetz. John, 74 
" Joseph A., 

190 
Stephen ab Evan, 217, 

218 
Stephen ap Evan, 228 
Stephens. John, 228, 

476 
Stephens. Richard F., 

74 
Stewardson. Mary H., 

190 
Stewardson. Mrs. Thomas, 

190, 287 
Stilhvagon. Joseph, 429 
Story. Enoch, 146, 223, 

228 
Story. Marc.v, 146 
Marv, 146 
Patience, 146 
Thomas, 528, 536 
Stout. Elizabeth, 229 
Streaper. Abraham, 448 
Mary, 448, 

449, 558 
Stretcher. Edward. 419 
SuUiTan. Gen., 238 
Sullivant. .Joseph, 274 
Sutcliff. Robert. 575-6 
Swaner. Jlark, 347 
Sydney. Algernon. 409 

Henry, 409 
Symcock. Jacob. 5 
" John, 

349, 353, 371 
Symmons. Thomas, 232 
Syng. Philip, 420 
Taillefer. Ademar, 289 
Taylor. Capt.. 97 

" Roland L., 74, 

Tliomas, 191, 

175, 178, 242 
Taylor. Jr., Thomas, 

178 
Thayer. Mrs. J. B.. 2.83 
Thomas ap Edward, 114 
Tliomas fip Evan. 267 
Thomas Evan Llovd. 300 
Thomas ap Huih, SI 
Thomas Hugh Evan. 109, 

110 
Thomas ,Tohn Evan, 2.31, 

249. 255 
Thomas John Thomas, 

153 
Thomas Llewellyn Owen, 

290 
Thomas Rees Evan. 133 
Thomas ab Richard, 132, 

133, 136 



9', <;• 

174, \ 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Thomas Ricbard Evan, 

166 
Thomas ap Robert, 133 
Thomas Robert Lloyd, 

299 
Th*omas SioQ Evan, 309, 

811 
Thomas. Abel, 55, 86, 
107, 132, 135. 137, 174, 
257, 3S5, 439 
Thomas. Dr. Allen G., 

587 
Thomas. Ann, 218, 223 
" Awbrey, 173 

" Cadwalader, 

21, 49, 109, 138, 155, 
157 
Thomas. Daniel, 176, 
218, 257, 584 
''iThomas. David. 223, 

323, 457. 567 
—Thomas. Edward, 98, 
141, 142. 150, 173, 230. 
247, 262 
Thomas. Eleanor, 584 
Elizabeth, 49, 
114, 173. 203, 211 
Thomas. Ellin, 155, 225 
Esther, 72 
Evau, 87, 164, 
173, 195. 106, 199, 232, 
261 

George, 211, 



Thomas. 

212 
Thomas. 



Given, 584 
Grace, 211 
Hannah, 211 
Henry, 195 
Herbert, 173 
Hester, 173 
Howell, 166 
Hugh. 256 
Humphrey, 



24a 

Thomas. Isaac, 457 



564 
Thomas. 



Jacob, 



108, 



James, 166, 
173, 180, 200, 202, 227, 
241, 245, 253, 254, 2.57, 
530, 584 
Thomas. Jr., James, 

202, 257 

Thomas. John, 49, 54, 
72. 109. 153. 173. 203, 
249, 250, 256, 319, 445, 
562 

Thomas. John Thomas, 
173 

Thomas. Katherine, 95, 
100, 117, 119, 150, 173, 

203, 257, 421, 500, 593, 
594 



Thomas. Lewis. 319 

Litter, 22, 114 
Lowry, 133 
Margaret, 141, 
142, 149. 173, 203 
Thomas. Mary, 164, 211, 

461 
Thomas. Morris, 173 

Nathan. 100, 
173, ISO, 196, 203, 204, 



227, 254 



Nathan, 



Thomas. Jr., 

203 
Thomas. Owen, 173, 196, 

203, 232. 252, 253, 257, 

262, 488, 490 
Thomas. Rees, 77, 95„ 

138, 1.54, 167, 171, 172, 
" 215, 225, 229, 237. 257, 

294, 296, 317, 438, 461, 

462, 480, 481, 505, 528 

582 
Thomas. Jr., Rees. 172 
Robert. 539 
" Richard. 55, 

71, 100, 229, 319, 493, 

539 
Thomas. Col. Richard, 

210, 211 
Thomas. Jr., Richard, 

84, 207, 211 
Tliomas. 3d. Richard, 

211 
Tnomas. 4th, Richard, 

211 
Thomas. Solomon, 193 
%^ " Thomas, 173, 

223, 225, 515 
Thomas. Watkins. 166 
AVilliam, 152, 

166, 172, 173, 214, 218, 

220. 221, 225. 256, 275, 

437, 478, 491, 502 
Thomson. Charles. 237, 

238, 458, 459, 460, 461 
Thomson. John. 460 
Thornton. John, 354 
Tilghman. Benjamin, 

481 
Tilghman. Richard A., 

73 
Todd. William, 429 
Toland. Robert. 73, 77 
Tongue. Elizabeth. 283 

Thomas, 283 
Tounson. Anthony, 197 
Townsend. Edward T., 

133 
Townsend. Henry Troth, 

133 
Townsend. John W., 
133 

[617] 



Townsend. Richard, 307, 

388 
Travis. John, 74 
Trent. William, 319 
Trevor. John, 28 
Trimble. John, 211 

Joseph, 211 
William. 211 
Troth. William P.. 1.33 
Troutbeck. Sir William, 

286 
Tuberville. Edward, 289 
Tunes. \ Abraham, 554, 
Tunis, j 562 

Anthony, 78, 264, 
447, 483, 554, 
555, 562, 557, 
558, 559 
Joseph, 483, 554, 
555 
TurnbuU. William, 420 
Turner. Joseph C, 481 
Robert. 260, 
206, 267, 308, 336, 369, 
382, 403, 413 
Tudor GryfEyth Vyehan, 

290 
Tudor-vaughan, 298 
Tudor. Lowry, 290 

Mary, 161, 498, 
509 
Tudor. Robert, 498 
Underwood. John, 478 
Up de Graeffi. Derick, 

565 
Up den Graeff. Abra- 
ham, 565 
Usher. Thomas. 354 
van Cuelebroeck. Coun- 
tess, 294 
Vaston. John, 350 
A'aughan. of Rhuddalt, 

299 
A^aughan. Catharine, 289 
Edward, 49, 
157 
Vaughan. Eleanor, 584 
.Tane, 103, 161 
John, 180, 

319 

Vaughan. Robert, 99, 
103, 118, 119, 120, 122, 
154, 160. 161, 198, 262, 
271, 591 

Vaughan. Sir Roger, 

288 

Vaughan. Thomas, 119 

Watkin, 288 

William, 296 

Sir William, 

289 

Vaughn. Gawen, 109 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Vaus. 146, 57S, 579 

George, 460, 461, 
486, 586 
Vaux. Mrs. Richard, 

294 
Vernon. Randall, 354, 

358 
Vernon. Rebecca, 134 
Vincent. Robert, 264 
Vroom. Garret, D. W., 

474 
Vychau. Gryffytli, 290 
Wager. Philip, 440 
Wainwright. 146 

Clement R., 
289 
Wainwright. Francis K., 

289 
Wainwright. John, 478 
" Jonathan, 

420 
Wainwright. Wm. J., 

294 
Wake. Lord John. 292 
Waker, (Vaikaw, Walk-) 
er) 

Mary, 203 
John, 55, 252 
Walker. Lewis, 200, 

203, 217, 505, 574 
Walker. Dr. James R., 

587 
Wallis. Philip, 257 
Wain. 146 

Edward, 294 
" Mrs. Jacob S., 
294 
Walter. Ann, 567 
" John, 177 

Richard, 54, 55, 
59, 83, 84, 257, 517 
Walter. William, 552 
Warley. Jr., Daniel, 239 
Warner. Col. Isaac, 130, 

455, 456, 482 
Warner. John. 174, 437. 

509 
Warner. Tacy, 130 

William, 69, 

174, 391, 439, 455, 482 

Watkiu. Edward, 275 

John, 47, 48, 

54, 136, 137, 571 

Watkins. John, 48, 57, 

99 
Watkins. Richard, 226 
Watson. .John, 226 
Watts. Bridget, 261 

Elizabeth, 261 
Hannah, 262 
.Tean. 261 
Thomas, 252 



Wayne. Abraham, 420 
" Gen'l Anthony, 

449 
Wayne. Thomas, 120 
Weaver. John, 146 
Webster. Edmund, 559 
Welch. James, 420 
Welles. John, 275 
Wells. John, 456 
West. Joseph, 159 
Weston. Deborah, 197 
Wetherill. Elizabeth, 272 
Isaac, 430 
" .Joseph, 419 

Mary, 272 
Samuel, 419 
Wharton. 146 

Daniel C, 294 
Joseph, 160 
II Rachel, 204 

Robert, 245, 

256, 488 
Wharton. Jr., Thomas, 

237, 465 
Wheeldon. Isaac, 176 
Wheeler. Andrew, 128, 

210, 294 
Wheeler. S. Bowman, 

190, 294 
Whitall. Jr., John M., 

284, 300 
White. Richard, 241 
Whitpain. John, 104 

Richard, 171 
Wiges. Henry, 98 
Wilcox. Barnabas, 119, 

174, 433, 439, 499, 5(56, 

507, 509 
Wilhelmi. Mrs. L., 294 
Will. 474 

yVillcox. Joseph, 506 
William ap Edward, 48, 

63, 64, 79, 80, 84, 85, 

92, 99, 121, 216, 245, 

248, 311, 312, 421, 439, 

445 
William ap John. 104, 

267 
William ap Owen, 96 
William Robert Ellis. 275 
William Thomas Hugh, 

275 
William. David, 229, 

520 
William. Edward, 447, 

515 
William. Elizabeth, 96 
Evan, 232, 258 
Hugh, 276 
John, 22, 49, 

56. 57. 80, 115, 133, 

215, 220 



William. Robert. 54, 55, 

59, 147, 148, 257 
Williams, of Cae Fadog. 

301 
Williams. Anthony, 240 
Charles, 190, 
283 
Williams. Daniel, 87, 

425. 456, 561 
Williams. Edward, 87, 
246, 257, 264, 487, 562 
Williams. Jr., Edward, 

87 
Williams. Eleanor, 87 

Elizabeth, 70, 

86, 114, 115, 225 

Williams. Ellen, 87, 284 

Ellis, 71, 284, 

301 

Williams. Evan, 163, 

260 
Williams. Gwen, 302 
" Hannah, 561 

Hugh, 191, 
215, 216, 225, 490 
Williams. Humphrey, 262 
" Isaac, 451, 

455 
Williams. Jane, 87 

John, 105, 
106, 231, 237, 244, 246, 
251, 257, 555, 594 
Williams. J. Randall, 

190. 
Williams. .Toseph, 87 
" Katherine, 86 

Lewis, 248 
Lumley, 252, 
499 
Williams. Margaret, 

260 
Williams. Mary, 87 
Rees, 519 
Robert, 71, 
86, 208, 493 
Williams. Sarah, 87 

" Susanna, 225 

Thomas, 114 
Williamson. .Tohn, 275 

Robert, 275 
Willing. 146 

Edward S, 294 
Jacob S, 284, 
300 

Willing. Mrs. Richard, 

294 
Willis. Jacob, 260 
Wilson. George, 97 

Henrietta, 274, 
275 
Wilson. Isabella G., 284 
" Major John, 

476 



[618] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Wilson. William H., 481 
Winsor. Mrs. J. D., 283 
Mrs. W. D., 



Winsor. 

283 
Wister. 

73 
Wister. 



Alexander W., 



Daniel, 76, 77 
Israel, 585 
Israel J., 73 
John, 156, 469, 
478 
Wister. Col. Lewis, 156 
" Dr. Owen Jones, 
73 
Wister. Rodman, 73, 

190, 283, 291 
Wister. Dr. Thomas, 294 
" Wm. Wvnne, 73 
Witmer. A., 440 
Wood. Ann, 159 

Eleanor, 169 
George, 169 
" Mrs. Howard, 
283 
Wood. John, 169 
" Joseph, 119 
" Rebecca, 577 
Robert, 562 
William, 119, 
124, 174, 207, 208, 349 
Wood. Mrs. W. A., 294 
Woodville. Jr. Wm., 74 



Worm. 
Worrell 



Wynne. 



Woodliffe. Nathan, 226 
Woods. William, 439 
William, 264 
John, 221, 230 
Mary, 230 
Peter, 230 
Richard, 565 
Elizabeth, 116, 
188, 189, 192 
Wvnne. Hannah, 153, 

192, 193, 287 
Wynne. James, 192 
" John, 21, 77, 

113, 174, 181, 192 
Wynne. Sir John, 182 
" Jonathan, 174, 

177, 178, 184, 190, 188, 
192, 439, 466, 483, 537 
Wvnne. Martha, 192 

Mary, 73, 192, 
193 
Wynne. 



193 

Wynne. 

193 

Wynne. 



Morris, 152 
Owen, 112 
Rebecca, 189, 

Sarah, 192 
Sidney, 192, 



Wvnne. Dr. Thomas, 25, 
33, 72, 73, 104, 120, 
138, 153, 161, 164, 175, 
189, 210, 257, 287, 291, 
317, 466, 507, 517, 577, 
595 

Wynne. U. Thomas, 
456, 466 

Wynne. Tibitha, 193 
William, 182 
Mrs. Walter S., 



Wyatt. 
283 
Tardley. 
Teates. 
Yerkes. 

Yocum. 

Young. 

450 
Young. 

455 
Young. 



William, 356 
Jasper, 412 
Mary, 449 
Titus, 428, 449 
.Tames, 73 

Th. Corson, .300 
David, 449, 450 
David Oram, 

Harriet, 449 
Capt. Llewellyn, 



Thomas, 153, 
182, 249, 255, 443 



Matilda, 449 
Peter, 100 
Rees, 449 
Sarah, 146 
Zane. Robert, 267 
Zell. John, 456 
" Thomas BUwood, 
567 



[fil9]. 



SUBJECTS. 



Ab and ap interchangatile, 85 

Abei-kynfrig, 295. 296 

Aberystwith, 24u 

Abington tp., 122, 200, 253, 487 

AcademyTille, 433, 484, 488 

Adventurers for Pensylvania land, 25 

Aged Friends of Merion, 569 

Agreement between Dr. Jones and John 
Thomas. 117 

Alfred, King of Dublin. 295 

Almeley par. Hereford. 350 

American Civil War, 15 

"American Historical Register," 158, 457 

"Americans of Royal Descent," 159, 282, 
284 

"American Weelily Mercury," 265 

An execution at New Castle, 170 

Angouleme. Count of, 289 

Annals of Welsh settlers, 305 

"Annerch ir Cymru," 152 

An old certificate of removal. 154 

An old inventory of personalty, 157 

"Antiquity of the Quakers" pamphlet, 
184 

An unconventional love story, 523-4 

Apostles of Quakerism in Wales, 24 

Ardmore, 75, 77. 119. 141. 150. 151, 155, 
160, 427, 475, 478, 479, 480, 485 

Arms used by Dr. Wynne, 183 

"Art of Ingeniously Tormenting," 20 

Arranging the Welsh settlement in 
Pensylvania. 20 

"Articles of Conditions and Conces- 
sions," 26 

Artois. Count of, 285 

Arundel. Earl of, 285, 288, 293 

A surprise for the Welsh, 35 

Ashland Heights, 421 

Athensville, 478, 479 

A Welshman's farm, 236 

Awbrcy pedigree, 595 

Autobiogrnphy filed with Merion Meet- 
ing. 166 

Autobiographies of founders of Merion 
Meeting, 63, 128 

Bala, 25, 35. 47. 63. 65, 67, 75, 79, 85, 
86, 96. 98. 118, 120, 121, 125, 126, 
133, 155, 160, 161, 192, SOI, 309, 434 

Ballotting methods, 361, 362 

Baltimore, Md., 284 

Baptist congregation, 486, 487 

Baptist graveyard, 456 

Barber-surgeon, 64 

"Baronial Assembly," 373 

"Barony" idea, 337, 340, 342 

Bashford Quaker Meeting, 28 

Beauchamp, 285 

Beaumaris Castle, 23, 160, 161 

Beginning of Quakerism in Wales, 23 

Belmont Driving Park, 433 



Belmont Heights, 421 

Bequests to the Haverford Prep. Mtg., 

165, 198, 200, 203, 227 
Bequests to Merion Prep. Mtg., 84, 86, 

101. 120, 129, 173, 180. 203 
Basse's "Sufferings of the Quakers," 24, 

29, 115, 266 
Bettws y Coed, 21, 48, 104, 176 
Bevan as an itinerant minister, 167 
Bevan's Land Patent, 163 
Bible of David Jones, 271 
Bible of John ap Thomas, 118 
Bi-centennial of jNIerion Mtg. House, 

586, 587 
Bicking graveyard, 456 
Birmingliam tp., 230 
Bishop of London, 19 
Black Horse Tavern, 238, 442, 465, 

467 
Blacksmith's Day Book, 275 
Bleddyn-cynfyn, king of Powis, 282, 290. 

297 
Blockley tp., 69, 77, 85, 100, 121, 130, 

158, 192, 198, 208 
Blockley, Worcestershire, 69 
Blockley and Merion Wagon Road, 436 
Blue Anchor tavern, 82, 153 
"Blue plush sidesaddle," 87 
Bodcon, 286 
Bonus city lot, 592 
"Bonus land," 179. 394 
Books in the Welsh Tract, 81 
Boult and Tun inn, 65 
Bounds of Thomas and Jones land, 52 
Bounds of Welsh Tract, 488 
Bowman's Bridge. 434, 443 
Branas Uchaf, 290. 299 
Brecknockshire, 29. 172, 296 
British invade Merion, 466 
Bromfleld. Lord of, 281 
Bronvadog, 120, 184 
"Brookfleld" farm, 216 
Browning's "Americans of Royal Des- 
cent," '159 
Browning's "Colonial Dames of Royal 

Descent," 159 
Browning's "Magna Carta Barons," 159 
Brvn Gwvn, 284 
"Bryn Mawr" farm. 134, 150. 180, 233, 

236, 237, 246, 247, 285, 287, 296, 298. 

457, 462 
Bryn Mawr, 86, 150, 153, 165, ISO, 213, 

216, 247, 287, 298. 480, 481 
Bryn Mawr College. 153, 236, 458 
Buck Inn, 442, 464 
Building Merion Mtg. House, 533-540 
Bull and Mouth Mtg., 400, 413 
Bur.ge's Tract, 438 
Burlington Mo. Mtg., 90, 497. 499. 530, 

597 
Burials at sea. 118, 183, 234 



[620] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Buying Royal assent, 515 

Byllings. 22 

Byllings's land customers, 267 

Cabinet P. O., 480 

Cae Fadog, .301 

Cae Mor, 109 

Caerwys, 25, 33, 178 

Caer y Nwcli, 298 

Caerdigansliii-e, 195, 222 

Caermarthenshire, 68, 98, IGl, 163, 20O, 

213, 253, 254 
Caernarvon Castle, 286 
Caernarvonshire, 126, 127, 176, 213, 300, 

301 
Caifadog. 284 
Cantre Seliffe, 295 
Cardiff Mo. Mtg., 166 
Castle Br'tli, 195, 202 
Cause for trouble between the Welsh 

Friends and Penn, 26 
"Cave dwellers," 315 
Cayrowe, 295 

Center Mtg. Hs., PMla., 509 
"Central Pensylvania" R. R., 479 
Certificates of removal, 532, 593 
"Chalkley Hall," 72 
Chalkley's Journal, 574 
Changes in first purchases. 57 
Character of the deeds to the Welsh, 58 
Chattam. Kent. 201 
Cherry Lane. 155 
"Chestnut Hill." 100. 103 
Chester, Pa., 63 
Chester Welsli Tract, 209 
Chester Creek, 80, 84, 86, 104, 119, 128, 

135 
Chester Co. line matter, 349, 596 
Chester Mill, 389 
Chester Mo. Mtg., 501, 504 
Chester Valley Friends, 505 
Chichester Mtg.. 230 
Chichester property, 119 
Chiefs of the "Welsh Nation." 373, 384 
Christ Church. Phila.. 158, 323 
Chuckatuck Friends Mtg., 98 
Church Road, 156, 232 
Churchman's .Tournal, 574 
Cmtalgarth, 21, 22 
City Liberties, 394 
City Line Road, 136. 128, 130, 204, 232, 

465 
"Clean JdEn Meadow," 101, 102, 447, 

555 
Clerk of Haverford Mo. Meeting of min- 
isters, 120 
Cloddan Cochion, 233 
Clwye, 295 
Clynn, 132 
Coalter's Ferry, 420 
Coates's Cave, 315 

Cobhs Creek, 69, 80, 100, 201, 208, 428 
Coch V,'illvm. 301 
Coediowrid. 293 
Coed 7 Foel, 300 
Collena, 106, 289 
Colonial architecture. 389 
"Colonial Dames of Royal Descent," 159, 

302 
"C. L. & P. R. R.," 476 
Columbia Railway. 443. 476. 479 
Columbus Inn. 443 
Comforts of Welsh Friends, 320 
Commissioners' Welsh Minutes, 196, 
207 



Committee representing Welsh Friends, 
25 

Comond, 295 

"Company No, One," 45, 63, 312, 387 

"Company No. 7," 522 

Compensation of surveyor, 251 

"Concealed land," 387 

Concord Mo. Mtg., 521, 567 

"Conditions and Concessions to Adven- 
turers for Land," 136 

Conditions to purchasers of Land, 35 

Conestoga Road, 438 

Confirmation of deeds, 508 

Confiscated Welsh lands, 422 

Congress of Nations. 273 

Conshohocken Hill, 53, 489 

Continental Army in Merlon, 463-4 

Convent of the Sisters of Mercy, 14 

Conway. Earl of, 591 

Cooperstown Road. 232, 484 

Cornwall. Earl of, 280 

Cornwallis. Barl of, 451 

Cors y Gedol, 290 

Coulter Ave., Ardmore, 478 

"Country stores," 319 

County Tax, 258 

Court in Fenel Hill, 292 

Cowyn, 126 

Crossforth, 209 

Crum Creek Road. 232 

Cryniarth, 301, 282 

Cumberland Valley, 17 

Curies, Va., 98 

Cwm Pennaner, 299 

Cydros, 290, 292 

Cyfanedd, 120 

Cymcydmaen. Lord of, 281 

Cynlas, 21. 85. 133 

David's Mill, 201 

David's land. Lewis, 195 

Davies's Journal. Richard. 233 

Davis' Queen's Head Innr 306 

Darbv Mill, 389 

Darby Creek, 232 

"Darby Mill Creek," 349 

Darbv Road. 174 

Darbv tp., 82 

Darby, Pa., 169 

D. A. R. monument, 465 

Death of John Roberts, 574 

Debate with the Bishop of St. Asaph., 
143 

"Declaration of Denial," 318 

Decline of purchasers, 254 

Deed for Merion graveyard, 549 

Deed for Merion Mtg. House lot, 551 

Deed for Merion Mtg. land, 557 

Deed to "first purchaser," 195 

Deed to second purchaser, 195 

Deeds to the Welsh. 45 

Deeds to "first purchasers" of Pen. land, 
34 

"Delaware County," 229 

Delaware settlements, 17, 18 

Denblg.shire, 22, 24, 25, 73, 118, 151, 
ICl, 175. 176, 181, 287, 299. 301, 302 
Dermot. King of Leinster, 295 

Description of a skirmish at Bryn Mawr, 
238 

Devizes. Wiltshire, 171 

Devon. Earl of, 280 , 

Devonshire House. London. 28 

Discharging a servant, 87, 90 

Disgust of the Welsh, 88 



[621] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



"Dishonoratli? marriages," 263 

Disorder at funerals, 519 

Dissart, 214 

Dividing the Welsh tract, 335 

Dr. Jones's letter, 26 Aug. 1682, 50 

Dr. Jones's party, 84, 85, 87 

Dock Creeli, 82 

Docklow par. Hereford, 350 

Dolselly, 22, 98, 114, 132, 233, 235, 239, 
591, 161, 234 

Dolgelly Quart. Mtg., 115 

Delgelly Prep. Mtg., 126 

Dolgyn, 23, 239 

Dolgun Vcha, 213, 243 

Dolgules, 131, 160. 260 

Dolobran, 25, 29, 33, 149, 150, 183, 233 

Dolohran Hall, 141, 142, 293 

Dolobran Quart. Mtg., 150 

Dolserre, 25, 48, '103, 104, 131. 152, 160, 
180, 213, 220, 240, 260 

Dolyserre Quart. Mtg., 152, 499 

Downingtown, 211, 212 

Duck Creek, 104, 160 

Ducketfs Prep. Mtg., 500 

Dutch, 17, 18 

Dutch "Articles of Freedom and Exemp- 
tion," 26 

Dutch land plans, 33 

Dutch Settlement, 373 

Dutch West India Co., 26 

Dyffryn Maivr tp., 101, 196, 199, 200, 
201, 244, 253, 254, 293 

Dytfrydan tp., 233, 239, 298 

Dynullo, 177 

Dwnn's "Visitations" in Wales, 280 

Eagle, 479, 480 

Eatrle Road, 256 

Eagle Tavern, 443 

"Eaglesfleld" farm, 482 

Earliest burials at Merion, 571 

Earliest burials at Haverford, 571 

Earliest extant minutes of Welsh Mo. 
Mtg., 502 

Earliest Friends' Mtgs., 497 

Early Days in the Welsh Tract, 305 

Early deeds did not give location of 
land. 50 

Early delegates to Quart. Mtg., 503 

Early inventory of an estate, 15'r 

Early Marriage Certificate of Welsh 
Friends, 76 

Early Mtg. clerks, 503 

Early maps of the Welsh Tract lands, 
50 

Early marriage certificate, 157 

Early Patentees. 255 

Early "peace makers," 503 

Early Philadelphia merchant, 319 

Early "politics." 360 

Early settlers in Haverford tp., 153 

Early surveyor's mark, 201 
Early tavern keeper, 146 

Early use of Friends' marriage cere- 
mony, 152 

Early Welsh books in Pa., 151, 152 

Early Welsh letters, 309, 312 

Eastmoor. 142 
East Town tp., 491 

Eckley annoys the Governor, 362 

Economic features. 319 

Edermon. 301 

Education of a 17th century physician, 

182 
Edward I. of England, 292, 297, 298 



Edward, the Black Prince, 293 

Edwards' Ford. 433 

Eglwysilan, 163, 164 

Ellis's advice to emigrants, 396 

Ellis's description of "Haverford Town," 
242 

Kim P. O., 450 

Emral manor, 300, 301 

End of the "Welsh Barony," 386 

English tongue, 19 

Equal division of land among Welsh 
children, 123 

Evansburg, 323 

Evans's house, 162 

Evil reports about Penn's projects, 39 

"Eyton Park," 118 

Exchange Money, 425 

Exiled Friends, 468 ^ 

"Exiles in Virginia," 469 " 

"Explanation of the City and Liberties," 
333 

Extent of the Welsh Tract, 36 

Exterminating wolves, 258 

"Fairhill" farm, 146 

"Fair Maid of Kent," 292 

Fairmount Park, 100 

Falls Mo. Meeting, 597 

Palls of Schuylkill, 51, 137 

Families and lands of first arrivals, 63 

Families and lands of second arrivals. 
93 

Farms divided. 88 

Faulty surveys, 128 

Fayette Co., Ky., 284 

Ferdinand III. of Castile, 29 

Ferry franchise, 390 

Feudal Barons of Powis, 297 

Fire-flies, 322 

First birth in the Welsh Tract, 82 

First brick house in Phila., 187 

First "cave dwellers." 65 

First death in the Welsh Tract, 82 

First Friends' meeting, 308 

First grist mill, 308 

First homes of settlers. 306, 313, 314. 
315, 316 

First homicide, 514 

First land laid out in the Welsh Tract, 
45 

First marriage in the Welsh Tract, 125 

First Mo. Mtg. in Phila., 187 

First settlers of Merion tp.. 137 

First Pa. Assembly, 187, 317 

First Pa. real estate agents, 27 

First Phila. counterfeiter, 188 

First physicians in Pa., 104 

First public school, 317 

"First purchaser's" deeds, 179 

First use of the Friends' marriage cere- 
mony, 152 

First Welsh child horn in Radnor tp., 
223 

First Welsh deed confirmed, 53 

First Welsh Friends to arrive, 64 

First Welsh grantees Penn's social 
equals, 27 

First winter of Pa.. 313, 314 
Fisher's Island, 190 

Flat Land Ford. 480 

Flight of Congress, 464 

Fliutshire. 25. 33. 120, 178 
40.000 acres engaged, 26 
Ford Road. 130. 434 

Ford m. Penn, 397 r 



[622] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Foreman of first grand jury, Phila., 197 

Fort Albany, N. Y., 77 

Fox's Journal, 23 

Fox's Pa. lands, 347 

Fothergill's Journal, 573-4 

Founders of Haverford Prep. Mtg., 95 

Founders of Merlon Prep. Meeting, 63, 

175 
Founding Merlon Mtg., 46 
Friends and tbelr hats, 526, 528 
Free Society of Traders, 116, 158, 400-1 
Friends and the "Oath," 514 
Friends' archives, 63 
"Friends' customs," 374 
Friends' ferry troubles, 390, 392 
Friends imprisoned in Welshpool, 142 
Friends in Md., and Va., 97 
Friends' Intermeeting library, 489 
Friends meeting in a "Steeple house," 

29 
Friends' ministers, 573 
Friends of Merionethshire, in 1679, 49 
Friends patrons of printing, 526 
Friends' Public School, 75 
Friends' "sufCerings," 18. 20, 266 
Friends' Testimonies, 274 
Friends' Yearly Mtg of Wales, 28 
F. and A. Masons, 457 
Freemasonry in the Continental Army, 

457 
Free Society of Traders, 17. 89, 400 

Fron.Goch, 101, 120, 155, 157, 271, 301 

Fronween, 120, 122 

"Frame of Government." 348 

Frankfort Company. 345 

French Creek, 80, 131 

Frog Hollow Run, 430 

Furnishing the Haverford Meeting 
House, 152 

Gadfa, 286 

Gardner family, 508 

Gardner's house, 162 

Garretsville, 484 

Garrig's house, 162 

Garthlwich, 141, 149 

Garthygn fawr, 24, 132, 235 

"Gellli yr Cochiaid," 118 

Genealogical letter, 291 

General Wayne Inn. 12. 427, 437, 444, 
446. 449, 467, 478, 560, 572 

General Wavne Inn lot, 553 

Gen. Wayne P. O.. 479 

Geologists' theories, 488 

George family, 86, 507 

"George's HIU" farm, 100 

George's house. E,, 162 

George's house. D., 162 

George's house. R., 1G2 

Germans' experience, 380 

Germans' grievances, 345 

German Friends, 510 

German "barony," 347 

"German Immigration into Pa,," 532 

German settlers, 145, 532 

Germ.antown Mtg. 529 

Giving public notice. 520 

Gladwyn, 435, 484 

Glamorganshire, 25, 33, 163, 166, 168 

Glanlloidlogin, 133, 291 

Glan y Llyn, 290. 292 

Glascombe, 214, 224, 227 

Glascvam, 214, 227 

"Glanrason" farm. 119, 121, 122, 44T 
Glenn family, 160 



Glenn's "Merlon in the Welsh Tract," 
159, 160 

Glenn's Road 155 

Gloucester. Duke of, 293 

Earl, of, 297, 298 

Glyn Taway, 295 

Glyndyfrdwy, 290, 299, 300 

Gyna y Maen-gwyn, 297 

Goshen tp., 35, 51, 54, 55, 64, 71, 80, 
83, 84, 86, 88, 101, 104, 108, 119, 
122, 123, 128, 133, 134, 176, 178, 211, 
214, 229, 236, 237, 492 

Goshen Meeting House, 104 

Goshen Prep. Mtg.. 575 

Gosnell. or Gosnold, 399 

Goushill. Sir Robert, 285 

Gov. Lloyd and Pastorius, 145 

Gov. Lloyd and the Welsh Friends, 145 

Government Mill, 388 

"Governor's Miller," 223, 306, 388 

Grainianoe, 281 

Grand Army of the Republic, 15 

Granting manorial rights, 343 

Graves, 192 

Gravestones, 14, 567 

"Graveyard pales," 551, 563 

Graveyards, 506, 507 

Great Meadows, 192 

Great Valley,' 177, 197 

Greave, 192 

Green Tree Ins. Co., 435 

Griffith family, 121 

Griffith of Gwyn, 295 

Griffith's house, 162 

Griffith. Prince of So. Wales. 281 

Griffith. Prince of No. Wales, 281 

Grimrod's mill, 430 

Grlscom tamilv, 141 

Growth of Philadelphia, 308 

Grubbing the city, 393 

Gulf Hill. 489 

Gulf Mill, 216, 237, 436, 489, 594 

Gulf Road, 102, 237, 433, 434, 436 

Gwanas, 213, 243 

TTwern y Brechtwvn, 290, 292 

Gwern Evel Ismynydd, 48, SZ, 105, 115. 

120, 127, 137 
Gwy Meeting House, 19 
Gwj'dir House, 182, 184 
Gwyddelwern, 290 

Gwynedd tp., 19, 38, 92, 99, 105, 107, 
132, 239, 240, 248, 284, 287, 300, 301, 
302, 323, 324, 499, 505 
Gwynedd Prep. Mtg., 135, 263 
"Gwynedd Welsh," 266 
Hambrlght's Inn, 442 
Hamhanghobyeholgen, 223 
Hank-Lincoln pedfgree, 595 
"Harfod Town," 16 
Harlech Castle, 301 
Harris family, 230 
Harrison family, 457 
Harrison School House, 458 
"Harriton" farm, 435, 457 
"Harriton" graveyard, 237, 456, 457. 
459 

Haverford and Radnor, 357, 363 
Haverford burial ground, 242, 580 
Haverford College. 153, 201, 204. 245. 
432. 47S ... 

Haverford Friends, 385 
Haverford Friends' School, 81 



[623] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Havertoi-d Mo. Mtg., 20, 63. 79. 83, 90, 

151, 301, 498, 501, 503, 504, 529, 531, 

550 
Havertord Mo. Mtg. and the "Oath," 

515 
Haverford M. M. "Book of Memorials," 

594 
Haverfoi'd Mo. Mtg. fori-.T, 391, 393 
Haverford Mtg. records, 570 
Haverford Mtg. House. 204, 242, 256. 

432, 435, 579, 580, 581. 582 
Haverford Mtg. stable. 580 
Haverford Mill, 198, 389 
Haverford Prep. Mtg., 82, 499 
Haverford Road, 69, 165, 167, 174, 232, 

483 
Haverford and Darby Road. 204 
Haverford and Merion Road, 72, 78 
Haverford School, 245 
••Haverford Street," 197, 204, 232, 256, 

431, 432 
"Haverford Town," 16S2, 499 
Haverford tp.. 16. 81, 87, 141. 150, 153, 

163, 164, 165, 166, 171, 173, 195, 196 

228, 229, 244, 253, 254, 287, 480 
Haverford tp., 1715, 488 
Haverford West, 23. 198, 222. 243, 253 
Haverford West Mtg., 271, 529 
Havod vadog, 117 
"Head-land," 259 
••Head-rishts," 259 
Hearue family, 508 
Hendri Mawr, 109, 161, 198 
Hendri Mawr Mo. Mt=:.. 122, 271 
Heng Wert, 103, 160. 161 
Henllan, 222 

Henry ill. of England, 285, 288 
Henry VII. of England, 286 
Henry I. of Navari'e, 285 
Herring Creek, Md., 237 
Hertford. Earl of, 281. 297, 298 
Hestonville Prep. Mtg., 586 
"Flicksites" .and '•Orthodox." 585 
"Hicksite Friends," 15, 534, 536 
High Street Ferry. 438, 464, 466 
Hiltz's Journal, 462 
Hirnant, 141. 149, 150 
"History of Haverford College," 414 
"History of Proprietary Government in 

Pen." 241 
Historical Society of Pa., 20, 24, 97, 109, 

117. lis. 156. 157, 214 
Holand. Sir Thomas, 293 
Holme's census of the Welsh Tract, 3a5 
Holme'.s land, 250 
Holme's Map of Pa., 119, 124, 249, 255, 

354. 355. 359, 381. 499 
"Homeworth" farm, 485 
Hood and Scarf Inn, 241 
House furniture. 319. 320 
Houses along the Lancaster Koad, 1750, 

162 
Howel-dda. King of Wales, 280 
Howell family, 158 
Howell, of Nannau, 207 
Hugh Robei'ts as a minister among 

Friends, 97 
Hugh Roberts's party, 87, 95, 105, 131, 

160, 166 
Hughs, of Gwynedd, 302 
Hnghs's bouse, 162 
Humphreys's house, 162, 466 
Humplireysvillp, 153. 428, 480 
Ideal asylum, 20 



leuf Howel Adar, 290 

Ilminston, 270 

Ilwyn y ISranar Mtg., 114 

"Immigration of Irish Quakers into Pa.," 

266 
Impressed servants, 262 
Independent "Welsh State," 372 
Indians, 306, 310, 316, 321 
Indian Chief Wingbone, 53 
Indian Creek, 100, 208 
Indian fields, 17, 306, 368 
Indian grantors, 53 
Interviewing Penn in London about 

land, 115, 116 
"Inverie Barony," 343 
Iscoed, 290, 300 
Ismynydd, 105 
Issa, 177 

Itinerant Mo. Mtgs, 510 
,Tames's Lane, 438 
.Tenkintown. Pa., 201 
.Tobn. King of England, 289, 300 
■lohn ap Edward's servants, 87. 89 
.Tohn ap Thomas MSS.. 109, 114, 118 
.Tones family, 89, 91. 105, 134 
Jones family Bible. 116, 118 
Jones pedigree, 109 
.Tones* house, 162 
.Tones' letter, 335 
Jones' land. Dr. Edward, 71 
Jones. Sketch of Dr., 64 
Journal of the Friends' Historical So- 
ciety, London, 24, 241 
Journal of Hugh Roberts, 97 
Jsoregenan, 243 

Junior Anti-Slavery Society, 273 
.Tobn ap Edward's servants, 87, 89 
Karbardamfyneth, 252 
••Keith disturbance," 318 
Kennett tp., 298 
Kentucky, 17 

Kent. Earl of. 292, 293, 297 
Kiltalgarth, 47, 48, 74, 79, 96, 109, 

120, 125, 127 
Kimbolton. Hereford, 350 
King of Prussia, 489 
Kinnison's Run, 438 
Lancaster. Earl of, 285 
T^ancaster Av. Improvement Co.. 443 
Lancaster Road. 60, 71, 78. 80. 84, 92, 

100, 102, 119. 136, 174, 204, 431, 

432, 435, 436, 437 
Lancaster Road in war times, 462, 466 
Lancaster Turnpike. 167, 440, 441 
Land advertising, 18 
Land Commissioners' Minutes. 54 
Land deeds of John and W.ynne, 34 
Land deeds of Thomas and .Tones, 34 
Land owners along the Lancaster Road, 

1773, 174 
Land scarce in 1683, 311, 312 
Land scarce, 335 
Land speculation, 235 
Land values in Haverford. 25S 
Land values in Morion tp.. 257 
Laud values in Radnor, 258 
Larue Co.. Ky.. 284 
Last Prince of Wales. 289 
Lea, Herefordshire, 142 
Leaders in Welsh Tract, 373, 384 
Leedom family, 567 
Leedom's Mill, 198 
Leicester. Earl of. 28.'^. 288, 300 
"Letitia Penn Tract," 178 



[624] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Letter of Dr. Jones. 63 

LeveriDg's Ford, 403 

Levering"? Map of Morion. 487 

Lovick family, IG,".. SCO 

Lpvick's "Re<'ollPct;on,s of Her Early 

l>:iv.s." Mrs., 272 
l.rvick MSS., 5n4 
Liberty Land. H7,, Sf< 
Lil.iTtyyille, 47.'s. 470. 484 
'I^ife of Samuel Jod,"-s Leviek," 273 
l.i^hlTjir family. 14(1 
■ Lilac GroTi-" farm, 46S 
' t.lne Wagcun Co.," 44] 
Liverpool, 8:*. 
M:elLswn, I 127, ) 2fl 
Llsithgwm, ( 22, 2.'i. 47, (!.'., 9G, 109, 116, 
Llanbister, 2l4, 224, 227 
Llanbynin, l.'j2 
Llnndlto.x'ilcn. 25:i 
Llancillio, 22. 2(iii. 2ii2. 2ri4 
Llnndafl registry. 16S 

Lland;-?yek'/--^«^"l'«. !»■ ^n^. 300 

Ll.-mdewy Velfry, 25, 33, lO.'j, 105, 271 

Llandlgley, 227 

Llandovery. 281 

Llaneingan. 120 

Llanehvith. 222 

Llanolyw. 172, 200 

Llanegrvn, 22, 152 

Llanfawr. 107. 114. 301 

LlanfillvD, 143 

Llaii Glynin. 4n. 131. l.'J7. 2i:;. 220, 221 

LauKiinllo, 214 

Ll.inllidin.i:, s',5 

Llangadog, 205 

Li.'ingerie. 100. 220 

Liamjov.cr. 4.S. i:i4, i:'.7 

Llangotten. 22 

Llanole, 08 

Llan Kwst, 170, 2.s;2 

lilansiliu. 293 

Llantgervel. 22. 113 

l.lantrissenl. 103, lOr, 

Llantwit Varcire. 140. 150. 103. 170 

Llanuwrliilvn, 209 

LlaDvaeb)-etli, 2Ki, 531 

Llanvawr. 21, 25. 75, 00. Ii7, lo.t, 125, 

133, 300 
Llanyihangel lihydyillian, 214 
Llanviiiangel A'elVyen, 214 
Llanwddyn. 150. 151, 152, 243, 2SC, 490 
Llanwenog. 195 
Llanwtliiu. 141 
Llan v keaveu, 195 
Llardevy. 197 
Llaiilanread In Elvel, 224 
Llavndgyfaner. 120 
Llaytbcywm. 21. 33 
Lleweiiyn's house, 162 
Llewellyn tbe Great. 290 
Llo.vd and Dayies' land. 151 
Llovd annoys tbe Governor. 357. 362 
Lloyd. Atl'y for tbe Welsh, 356 
Lloyd's diflieiiltv with Penn's deputy, 

143. 144. 145' 
Lloyd's land. 50,. S3. 147, 234 
Lloyd, of rydros, 292 
Llovd, of D'oloiiran, 203 
Lloyd, of Pyttrvn. 293 
Llovd. of Gwern Brychwyn, 292 
Llovd, of Gwerny Brechtwyn, 299 
Lloyd, of Upper Plasin, 292 



I.luu, 127 

Llwyn-du, 9.S. 150, 151, 152, 157, 179, 
IKii, 2.SG, 591 

Llwyn v Braner, 21, 102 

Llwyu Gievill. 132, 150, 234 

Llw\u-bowell. 290 

Llvn. 120. 2N1 

l.lyndeddwvdd. 96. 125, 120 

Llnyaiartli. 301 

Loeaiing Pbila.. 41, 42 

Lueations of Havprford farms, 256 

Locations of Radnor farms, 250 

Log oaliin home. US 

Ijocan fjiiuiiy. 140 

Lo.tran's opinion of ''t!ie palatines," 347 

Lcindou (.azette, 1S6 

London Yearly Meeting, 24 

Lnndondci'i'y, 200 

Lungvvity. 272 

Ijong Is.. A". Y.. 101 

Lonis VIII. of France. 285 

Long Welsh pedigree. 110 

Lower Burying Gronnd, 507 

Lower Merion Academy, 4S7 

Lower Merion tp., 422, 426 

Lower Mill Creek. 428 

Lownes's Cave, .315 

l.ntlierans' chui-eb. 4S5 

Lutheran church graveyard, 450 

MSS, of Jobu ap Thomas, 47, 64 

McCalla's Slore, 477 

McClennchan family. 146 

Maccbinletb. 101, 230 

Macbanlleth. 220 

Macbvnlletli, 240 

Mackenzie's "Colonial Families," 2S3 

"M.'iencoch." 197 

Ma.Tistrate's Court, 529 

"Macna Cbaria Barons and their Amer- 
ican r>.-scendants." 159 

"N'-ignn Cbai-la" Pur.'ties. 2.S1 

"Masnalia." 17 

"Main Line" (P. R. R.), 147, 419, 479 

Malin's Graveyard. 211 

Manl)iii(etb, 101 

Maiiiuniiting. 205 

Mail of llavi-rford tp., 204 

Mail of Ilaverforfl tp., 232 

jr.ili of "Lil)Prt:es." 1773, 174 

iMao Merion Mtg. land. 30. 500 

Map of part of the Welsh Tract. fiO 

Map showiii,; Ihe Merion and Haver- 
ford Meeting ITouses, 194 

Maji ■ "Thomas and .Tones Tract." 1692, 
370 

Map of "Tliomas and Jones Tract,' 
1700. 370 

Map : "Thomas and Jones Tract," 1750, 
162 

Map : Thomas and Jones Tract, 1850, 
416 

Map of "Welsh Tract," 494 

March, Earl of, 293 

Marchnant Issa, 141. 149 

Marriage Certificates. 594 

"Marri?d out." 262 

Marris family. 159 

Marple tp., 163, 104. 190. 232, 255 

Masonic "Army Lodge," 457 

Mass. Friends. 531 

Mass. "sharp laws," 17 

Matson's Ford. 430'. 463, 466. 4S9 

Maud coat of arms, 1S3 



[625] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



"Measures to regulate the Welsh Tract," 

58 
Meeting House Lane, 11, 434, 443 
Meetini^s separate, 585 
Melfod, 141 

Members of Merion Mtg., 1706, 341-2 
Merchantable things In Phila. in 1682, 

68 
Meredith's house. 162 
Merionethshire. 23. 33, 4S, 65, 75, 70, 

81, 82. 85. 96. 103, 104. 107, 100, 116, 

120, 125. 120, 129, 131, 150, 151, 152, 

155, 157, 160, 161, 170. 213, 220. 

224, 233, 240, 243, 287, 291, 298, 300, 

301, 499 
"Merion In the Welsh Tract," 63, 159, 

160 
Merion, 02, 132, 479 
Merion adventurers for lands, 63 
Merion and Haverford Road, 204 
Mf^rion Associators, 455 
Merlon's creeks, 430 
Merion Ford, 432 
Merion Friends, 385 
Merion Friends' first meetings, 99 
Merion Friends' first weddings, 99 
Merion Furnace, 430 
Merion in 1850. 484 
Merlon land holders, 58 
Merlon militia. 455, 456 
Morion Mill Creek. 3S9, 429 
"Merion Mo. l^Itg.." 501 
Merion postofflces. 427 
Merlon soldiers, 454 
Merlon Square. 484 
"Morion Street." 431, 43 
Merion. the richest tp.. 426 
"Merion Town." 16. 499 
Morion tou-nslilp. U. 16 

117, 214. 217. 2.16, 237, 

312, 421 
^lerlon Troop, 454 
Merion villages. 427 
Merionville. 479 
Merion wnod ranger, 419 
Merion Preparntorv Meeting. 24. 63. 76. 

79. SO, 82, 89, .85, 86, 451, 529, 530, 

549 
Morion Mtg., 1806, 578 
Merion Mtg. archives, 85 
Merion Jltg. hurlals, 429, 565. 566 
Merion Mtg. burial records. 564 
Merion Mtg. caretaker's house. 562 
Morion Mtg. Gravevard, 14, 73, 80. 83, 

84. 86. 102, 446. 448, 549, 554, 567 
Merion Meeting House, 11, 20, 42. 72. 

74. 7.5. an, 81. 83. 84, 119, 125, 156, 

162, 434. 438. 442. 443, 444. 445. 

4R2, 463, 465. 478, 483, 487, 528, 533, 

550, 572, 591 
Morion Mtg. House pictures, 572 
Merion Mtg. land, 60, 78, 549, 553, 557, 

558 
Merion Mtg. minutes, 263, 533, 535, 540 
Merion Mtg. school. 487 
Merlon Mtg. school house. 560. 561 
Morion Mtg. stable. 446. 448. 560 
Merion Mtg. stone walls, 563 
IVfoteer family, 473 
Middle Ferry, 174. 390, 393, 436 
Middle Town tp., 178 
Mile Stones, 435, 442 
Mill Creek, 69, 80, 100, 208 
:*rill Creek Road, 155, 179, 433 



436 



24, 54, 55. 
250; 253, 291. 



Mill on Darby Cr., 198 

Mills, 388 

Mills taboo to the Welsh, 389 

Ministers' notices of Welsh Tract 

Mtgs., 573-4-5 
Miscln. 289 

Money to print a book In Welsh, 131 
Montfort. Simon de, 300 
•Monthly Meeting" as a Court, 345 



519 



119, 



Mo. Mtg. authority, 511. 513, 518, 
JIo. Mtg. legislation, 512, 513 
Mo. Mtgs. of Wales, 25 
Montgomery Ave.. 71, 80, 92, 102, 

151, 153, 156, 433, 434, 436 
Montgomery Castle, 296 
.Montgomeryshire. 24, 33. 100, 141. 145. 
149, 130, 161, 220, 220, 230, 233, 240, 
301 
Moore family, 148 
Moravians' "barony." 343 
Morgan's Corner, 47iX 480 
Morris family, 146 "^ 
Morris, of Brin Gwin, 301 
Morris' Woods. 458 
Mossom, 95, 209 
Mothvey, 213 
"5Iount Ararat" farm, 119, 121, 255, 

447, 567 
Mt. Mellick Mo. Mtg.. 298 
Mt. Holly Meeting. 597 
Mount Joy Manor, 422 

Names of Merion land owners, 1734. 
424-5 

Names of Merion residents. 1690. 423-4 
Names of Merion tarahlos, 1780, 426 

Names of Welsh Frionds, In lOSS. 371 

Names of Welsh Friends, 1693, 391 

Names of Welsh .settlers, 517 

Nanua-j. liij. 298 

Nnnt Lloldiog. 21. 48. 85, 108. 132, 136 

Nantmell. 102, 214, 252, 499 

Nant V Friar, 290. 299 

Narberth. 23. 72. 92, 118. 119, 155, 195. 
197, 270. 432 

Neale's .Tournal, 575 

Neath, 2S9 

Negroes, 205, 565 

New Amsterdam land rule, 368 

New Church parish. 214. 223 

New Castle. Del.. 81. 104. 229 

New Kent Co.. l-'a., 97 

"New Merion." 63 

Newport. R. I., 187 

Newton tp., 210 

New Town Prep. Mtg.. 501. 504 

New Town tp., 35, 165, 177, 178. 208. 
221. 237 

"New Wales." in Pa.. 25 

Non-Quaker Welsh. 308 

Non-Quakers in the Wol.sh Tract, 372 

Northampton. Earl of. 285 

North Carolina. 211 

North Vallev Hill. 489 

"North Wales." 239. 266 

North Wales. King of. 294 

North Wales Friends. 573 

North Wales people. 275 

Official Grave Digger. 509 

Oldest house in Morion. 156 

Oldmixon's opinion of Welsh settlers. 
318 

Origin of Penn's plans. 374 

Oswestrie. 65 

"Quid Grave Yard Owen Roberts',"' 102 



[626] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



other "Welsh Tracts," 37, 265 

Overbrook, 85, 99, 432, 439 

Overbrook Farms. 86 

Over-lapping survevs, 36G 

"Over-plus" land, 197, 226, 267, 333 

Owen family, 158, 159 

Owen House, 156, 528 

Owen, of Dolserau, 160 

Owen, of Duck Creek, 160 

Owen, of Merlon, 154, 160 

Owen, of VroD G5ch, 154 

Oxford P. E. church, 323 

I'almer's Journal, 575 

Vaoli, 479, 480 

l-aoii Inn, 443 

PaoU massacre, 492 

Paschall's Landing, 450 

Passengers in the ship "Vine," 161 

"Patroon concessions," 33 

Paying for Merion Mtg. House, 536-537 

"Peace Maker" of Phila., 197 

"Peace" Society, 273 

Peckover's Journal, 575 

Pektang Koad, 438 

Pembroke Quar. Mtg., 75 

Pembrokeshire, 23, 25, 33, 142, 165, 195, 

197, 241, 270, 499 
Penarth, ISO, 286 
"Pencoyd" farm, 106, 122, 126, 127, 

168 
Pencovd Iron Works, 421, 430 
Penllecb, 281 
Penllyn, 47, 82, 90, 98, 105, 109, 116, 

121, 122, 285, 299, 591 
Penllyn Mo. Mtg., 79, 83, 96, 97, 105, 

lli. 127, 133 
Penmaen, 21. 22, 48. 83, 114, 122, 129, 

136, 302, 311, 594 
Penn and his agents "boom" htB 

province, 40 
Penn and Ford, 241 
Penn and the Germans, 345 
Penn and the Jesuits, 409 
Penn and the Welsh, 331 
Penn'e arbitrariness, 335 
Penn's anger, 330 
Penn's annoyances, 330 
Penn's appellations. 327 
Penn's authority, 328, 342 
Penn as a courtier, 406 
Penn as a feudal prince, 344 
Penn a fugitive, 411, 413 
Penn blackmailed, 403 
Penn's Charter, 327 
Penn's Commissioners answer Welsh 

complaints. 382, 385 
Penn's "Conditions," 334 
Penn courting, 524 

Penn's deeds to the Welsh Friends, 52 
Penn's desire to favor the Welsh, 36 
Penn's "Experiment," 330 
Penn experiments with deputy-governor, 

143 
Penn's "Free Colony," IS 
Penn's first colonists, 41 
Penn's first surveyor. 41 
Penn's first visit to Pa., 42, 82. 186 
Penn's first "weather report." 314 
Penn's grist-mill "trust," 388 
Penn's hat pin, 528 
Penn's "House of Lords," 254, 344 
Penn's Inducements to buy his land, 25 
Penn's "interests" badly looked after, 

396 



"Penn-Logan Correspondence," 101 
Penn's Land advertisements, 22 
Penn's land patents to Welsh Friends, 

34, 35 
Penn's land plans, 33 
Penns land titles, 333 
Penn looks for "overplus land," 369, 

387 
Penn loses ferry and mill rights, 392 
Penn's manors, 341 
Penn's manor. Letitia, 422 
Penn's estate. Letitia, 490 
Penn's method of selling his land, 38 
Penn's Milling Co., 308 
Penn's models, 341 
Penn's Nemesis, 397 
Penn's "Order of Nobility," 344 
Penn's ostentStlon, 329 
renir.s personal sales, 253 
Ponu's phantasm, 335 
Penn plans to get Welsh lands, 367, 368 
Penn's promise to Hugh Roberts, 384 
Penn's promiseB to the Welsh Friends, 

26 
Penn's promises, 327, 330 
Penn's "Province business," 330 
Penn's regard for certain Welsh Friends, 

318 
Penn selling land, 20 
Penn's "subtil undermining" of the 

Welsh, 379 
Penn's surveys, 334 
Penn, "the Jacobite Quaker," 410 
Penn's title to land he had sold, 52, 53 
Tcnn's treatment of the Swedes, 332 
Penn's unfairness, 332, 333, 334 
Penn's vacillation, 348 
Penn's verbal concessions to the Welsh, 

26 
Penn's visits to W'elsh Tract, 528, 529, 

577 
Penn lis. Ford, 405 
Penn's word the Law, 334 
"Penn Cottage," 485, 528 
Penn School, 502 

Pennsylvania, or "Pensylvania," 20 
Pa. documents, 328 
Pa. Loan OfHcc, 425 
Pen. R. R., 72. 75, 92, 132, 155, 171, 

478, 484, 507 
Pennvckland, 178 
Penrhyn Castle, 286 
Pen y Chvd. 151, 287 
Pen y Clwyd, 178 
Pcnvtklawe, 178 
Persecution of Welsh Quakers, 21, 110, 

111, 112 
Persecutina the Friends. 185, 591 
Petition of Welsh as to lands and rights, 

378 
Peytyn wyn, 288 
Phila. City Line, 84 
Philadelphia in 1682-3, 66, 145, 310, 

312 
Philadelphia in 1754, 420 
P. P. &. B. M. Turnpike Co.. 444 
Phila. Mn. Mtg.. 75, 497, 499 
P. k R. R. R., 483 
Philip 111. of France, 292 
Pickering's Journal, 463 
Pike Stage Co.. 441 
"Pioneer Fast lAnc." 478 ' 

Pioneer Welsh Friends, 20 
Pioneering, 17, 18 



[627] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Plantation of L'lster, 341 

I'las Ifa, 22, iSl 

Vlas jn Yale. 118 

Plow Inn, 442 

Plymouth settlement, 108 

Political (Jevelopment, 371 

Poor surveying. 223, 229 

Port Kennedy, 489 

Porthaml, 2S8, 289 

Powell family, 331 

Powell's t'eiiy. 433 

Powell's bead-rights, 252 

Powell's land, 230, 251 

Powell's map of the Thomas and Joues 
land, 8S 

Powell, surveyor of Welsh Tract. 251 

Pownall's .(oiirnal, 420, 442, 445 

Powls Castle, 293, 297 

Powls. King of, 290 

Powys Kadog. History of. 200 

Prees, or Price pedlgre'e, 133 

Presbyterians, 458 

Prescoe, Lancashire, 104, IGl 

Preston family, 146 

l^rice Family, 229. 462, 463, 467 

Price property, 119 

Prices in 1098, 316 

Primogenitiire not recognized by the 
Welsh, 123, 373 

Prince Llewellyn Griffyth, 300 

Prince Theodore-mawr, 295 

Progenitor of the flaverford Mo. Mtg., 
27 

Prominent Welshmen, 317 

"Proprietary Government in I'a.," ;^33 

Proprietor's Mill, 388 

Protection against creditors, 521 
Protheven, 287 

Proud's description of the Welsh set- 
tlers, 305, 306, 316 

Provence. Count of. 2S5 

Province Island. 100 

I'ryues Castle, 286 

I'ublic highways. 431 

I'ubllc library. 489 

Pugh's "'Annerch ir Cymru." 132 

"Piigh District." 231 

I'ngh of CJwynedd. 302 

I'uritans' Si'ttlement. 37:! 

Qualvor apostle, 23 

Quakers' hats, 597. 

Quaker patriots, 453 

"Quaiior School Boy," 17 

Quaker soldii-rs, 455 

"Quaker Tories," 453 

Quality of the first Welsh settlers, 95 

Quality of the settlers of the Welsh 

Tract. 279 
Quality of the Welsh immigrants, 305, 

317, 318 
Quit-rent disputes, 333, 381 
Quit-rent, when due. 3S4 
Radnor & Chester Iload. 232 
liadnor Friends. 385; -152 
Kaduor Mtcr. House. 4a,s,' 3.';2. 3'<4 
Radnor Mo. Mtg.. 20; 24,^43], 473. 301, 

502, 517, 520, 586 
aadnor Prep. Mtg., 81, 108. 310, 529, 

576 ; 

Radnorshire, OS, 161, 176. 211, 222, 

223, 226, 22S. 252. 499 
"Radnor Street." 236. 4:il 
"Radnor Town, " 16. .'J2, 199 



Radnor towusbip, 19, 81, 106, 107 165 
172, 178, 191, 214, 217, 218' 22l' 

225, 228, 231, 233, 254, 311 312 

322, 480 ■ 

Kattle snakes, 322 

Reason tor divisinn of purchases, 51 
Reckitt's .fournal, 574 
Red Hill, 489 
Kediston, 98 
Redstone, 23. 241 
Redstone Mo. Mtg., 490 
lUd Lion Inn, 427, 443 
Reesvllle. 470 
Regnal years, 45 
Regulating courtship, 520 
Regulating weddings, 520. 521 
Helatlouship to each other of the first 

settlers in the Welsh Tract, 137, 138 
Reserved milMaud, 388 
Rhlwabon, 120 

Rhiwialon. Prince of Powys, 281 
Rhiwlas, 155, 2S2 
Rhoads's house, 162 
Rhuddalt, 29, 299 
Rhys. Prince of So. Wales, 281 
Richard II. of Eugland, 292 
Richard Davies Co., 150 
Richard Davies' land, 213, 233 
Richard Thomas' land. 207 
Richards family 432 
Richland Prep. Mtg. 272, 273, 274 
Richardson's Journal, 57.3, Ridley Creek, 

lol 
Ridg'.vay Family, 116 
Right to alBrm, 597 
Road to the Ford, 445 
Roads In the Welsh Tract, 430 
Robert Owen's stone house. 156 
Roberts familv. 96, 107, 123, 134, 146, 

588 
Roberts, of Lynn. .John, 498, 568 
Roberts, of the "Vane Mill," John, 130, 

151. 178. 179. ISO. 237 
Roberts, of "Woodlawn," John, 92 
Roberts, the Tory — John. ISO, 468-475 
Kotjerts. John. unsUsterj, ^Q, 57, 59, 

127, 129, 218 
Roberts. John, (shoemaker), 54, 36, 

37, 59, 220 
Roberts. John. I wheelwright), ISO 
Roberts of "Peccoyd," 106 
Unherts. of ■■Wontilawu," 272 
Roberts's acc't of cost of linishing Mer- 
lon Mtg. Hs., 343 
Robei ts' Ciravcyard. 330 
!;oberts' house, 162. 483 
Roberts' :\Iill. 43.". 
Roberts' opinion ci some lirst settlers. 

395 
Rosemont. 171. 236 
"Ilosemont" farm. 1 7. 172, 480 
Rowden, 1.S9 

Ruabon, 22. 25. 28. 33. 120, 178, 181 
"ilr.les of the Road." 440 
St. Asaph registry, 79, 109, 133, 291, 

301 

Nt. David's P. E. I'hurih, 19, 323. 583 

Sr. Harmon. 214 

"St. Mary's" farm, 73, 77, 119. 136. 

.Salem, Mass.. 187 

San Marino, 372 

Sassafras Prep. Mtg.. 327 

Saunders family, 5ii8 

Scandalous idea of Friends' meetings, 28 



[62S] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



School houses, 502 

Scott's Journiil, 575 

Scbuylklll river. 430 

Scbuylklll Marshes, 174 

Schujikill MasoDi't Lodge. 457 

Scbu.vlkill ]'rep. Mtg., 174, 300. 439, 

500, 507, 508 
Scull & Heap's map, 102, 4S2, 4S3 
Scull's house, 102 
Seating land, 334 
Seeing Penn praying. 576 
Selecting a help-meet, 522 
Sensational, Bctitious letter about Penn, 

186 
"Servants," 259 
Servant's certiflcate. 87, 261 
"Servants" in Merlon, 261 
Servants' land, 128, 250 
Servants' references, 205 
Settling differences, 520 
Sevenecb Friends' Mtg., 98 
Several "John Roberts" in the Welsh 

Tract, 125 
Shardiow, Sbarelow, Sharlow, Sherlo. 

207 
Sharlow's land. 447 
Ship Inn, 442 

Ships, "Endeaiour, " 188; "Lvon." 64, 
83, 85 ; "Mornin? Star," 95, 105. 117, 
119. 125. 150. 160. 209, 263 ; "Sub- 
mission." l.Kil: ••VtDe.'' 104. 131. 160, 
101, 230, 505 : "Welcome." 182. 186, 
189, 307. 400; "WilliaHi," 252; "Wil- 
liam I'enn, 309. 
Shoemaker family. 146 
Sign of the Bull Inn. 438 
Sisters of Mcrcv. 14, 437 
Sketch of Hugh Roberts, 96 
Sketch of .Tohn Bevau. 166 
Sketch of .lolin Cadwalader. 74 
Sketch of ,1ohn Roberts. 125 
Sketch of John Thomas, 100 
Sketch of Richard Davies. 233 
Sketch of Richard ap Thomas. 209 
Sketch of Robert Owen, (from Doly- 

serre), 160 
Sketch of Robert Owen, (from Vron 

Goch). 154 
Sketch of Rowland Ellis, 233 
Sketch of Thomas Ellis. 240 
Sketch of Dr. Thomas 'U'ynne. 181-190 
Small farms customary among the 

Welsh, 123 
Smallpox germs scattered, 183, 187 
Smith's "History of Delaware Co.." 243 
Social quality of Welsh and English 

Quakers, 27 
Society of Free Traders, 116, 158. 400 
Sonhy, 290 

Sorrel Horse Inn, 443. 460 
South River country, 18 
South Wales. Prince of. 294 
Spread Eagle P. O.. 480 
Spread Eagle Tavern, 443 
Spring Fair of Phila.. 202 
Spvtu. 300 
Stackpole. 142 
Stadleman's house. 162 
Stadleman's Inn, 442, 443 
Stafford. Earl of, 297, 299 
Stage drivers, 442 
Standing of first Welsh land grantees, 

27 
Stanton's Journal, 575 



Slal( Road, 434 

"St.ile in Schuylkill," 455, 482 

SKickOale's 'Great Crv of Oppression," 

200 
Subscribei'S towards finishing Merlon 

Mtg. lis., 545 
"Sufferings of the People Called Qua- 
kers," 185 
Sufferings of Welsh Friends. 24 
Suggestions to emigrants, 38, 30 
Survey charges, 67 
Survey map of the Welsh Tract, 37 
Surveyor's prices, 52 ' 
Susquehanna Land Co., 422 
SutclifC's Journal, 572, 576-79 
Suttrick, King of Dublin, 295 
Swan Lum's laud, 128 
Swansea. 23 

Swanson family, 09, 311 
"Swart More," 28 
Swedes, 17, 18 
Swedes' Ford, 463, 464, 489 
Swedes' lands. 128 
Swedish Settlement, 373 
Swedish settlers. 332 
Tal v Llvn, 295 
Tancarville. Earl of, 293. 297 
Tawrynvdd, 298 
Tenbigh Friends' Mtg.. 98 
Tenb.v, 29, 200. 201, 253 
Telcha, 103 

The election of 1089, 301 
"The Pa. Farmer," 272 
"The I'hila. Friend." 73, 189 
"The Friend?' Library," 233, 243 
Tlic Lloyd & Davis Grant. 142 
'i'be pioueer "land company." 41 
The position of the Welsh Tract, 420 
The seven streets of Phila., 394 
The Story of Philip Ford, 397 
The Upper Ferry, 390 
The Welsh communitv short lived, 138 
The Welsh Utopia, 375 
Thomas & Jones Co., 55. 83. 255. 387, 

445 
Thomas & Jones' deeds. 49 
Thomas & Jones' grantees. 137 
Thomas & Jones' Patent. 45 
Thomas & Jones land distributed. 50. 51 
"Thomas & Jones Tract." 87, 88. 355, 

430, 483, 500 
Thomas family, 161, 172, 173 
Thomas' house, 162 
Thompson family, 457, 507 
Three Tuns Tavern, 442 
To furnish Haverford Mtg. house. 152 
To print a book in the Welsh language, 

151 
Toland familv. 77 
Toll Gates. 440 
Tories in Merlon. 468 
Township constable. 492 
Township officers. 335 
"Township village." 335 
Townships formed. 335 
Townships in Welsh Tract, 488 
Traditions in Merlon, 467 
Transportation charges, 252 
Trawsfvnedd. 298 
Tredomen, 289 
Tredvffrin tp.. 491 
Trefgarned. 290. 300 
Tregaron, 170 



[629] 



WELSH SETTLEMENT OF PENSYLVANIA 



Trcverigg, 33, 9S, 1G3, 166, 168, 169, 

289 
Trevcripc Friends' Mtg., 166, 261 
Trevor, L'2 
Trevor Isz:i, 23 
Tribes of Uwynodd, 202 
Trouble In gtiiing land laid out, 67 
Trouble over "'bonus land," 213 
Troubles over taxes, 364 
Tudor-mawr, Prinee of So. Wales, 281 
Tunis's house. 162 
Tunis' Ordinary. 447. 467 
Turner's advertisement of Pa., 338 
Tuyn y nant. 83. 127 
Tyddyn Tyfod, 79, 200, 291, 299 
Tyddyn y Gareg, 106. 154 
Tyddyn y Garreg Quart. Mtg., 272, 499 
Tvddier y Gareg, 132, 235 
Ucheldre, 48, So 
University of Pa., 475 
"Unseated Lands," 377 
Upland 41, 03, 04 
Upper IJranas, 202 
Upper Dublin tp., 109 
Upper Merion tp., 422, 489 
Upper Mill Creek, 102 
Upper Side of Bucks JIo. Mtg., 400 
Uwchland tp., 35 
Vaenor. 216 
Valle Crucis Abbey, 28 
Valley Forge, 450, 489 
Valley of Virginia. 17 
Van Lear family, 473 
Vaux family. 146 
Vehicles. 435 
Vernon Tavern, 442 
Villa Xova, 256, 470, 480 
Vital records, 571 
Virginia head-rights, 259 
Voting places, 428 
Vron Goch, 21. 22, 282 
"Vron Goch" farm, 287 
Walnwrlght family. 146 
Walker familv. 452 
Wallbrook. 141, 145 
Wain family, 146 
■Walnut Grove" farm. 100 
Waloons Settlement. 373 
War times in Merion, 465 
Warner's house, 162 
Warrant to survey the land of the 

Welsh, 35 
Warwick. Ear! of, 285 
Washington, Gen.. 238, 450, 451, 452, 

462, 403. 404. 407, 471, 489, 570 
Watson's "Annals of Philadelphia," 181 
"Wayn Mill," 151, 178, 287, 433 
Wayside Inn, 440 
"Weekly Mercury," 394 
Welsh and Chester Mo. Mtg., 502, 504 
Welsh appeal from Commissioners to 

Penn, 384 
Welsh ask to be confirmed in their 

rights, 370 
Welsh Baptists, 266, 286 
"Welsh Barony." 414. 587 
Welsh "honus land." 304 
Welsh book-seller, 275 
Welsh chimera, 380 

Welsh customs and laws, 10. 337, 374 
Welsh defend their rights. 366 
Welsh descendants of kings, 280 
Welshmen's desires. 512 
Welsh emigration, 322 



Welsh-English church services, 323 

Welsh Kpiscopallaus 10, 323, 583 

Welsh estimate of Penn., 379 

Welsh families, 19 

Welsh ferryman, 300 

Welsh ferryman imprisoned, 302 

Welsh foresight, 016 

Welsh Friends, 10, 17, IS 

Welsh Friends at Phlla. Quart. Mtg 

008, 509 
Welsh Friends before I'onn's Commis- 
sioners, 383 
Welsh Friends buy 30,000 acres In Pa.. 

34 
Welsh Friends decline to be in Chester 

Quart. Mtg., 303 
Welsh Friends' expectations, 26 
Welsh Friends' grievances, 339 
Welsh Friends' kin, 10 
Welsh Friends Mo. Mtg., 501 
Welsh Friends' Pedigrees, 279 
Welsh Friends' protest, 370 
Welsh Friends' rights, 331 
Welsh Friend writers. 526 
Welsh get their land deeds confirmed, 

386 
Welsh given city lots, 387 
Welsh helping "the needy, 530 
Welsh ignore the Executive Council, 361 
Welshmen ignored, 337 
Welsh Inspect newcomers, 431 
Welsh interviewing Penn in London, 24, 

25 
Welsh land trustees, 34 
Welsh lands pay Penn's debts, 385 
Welsh language, IS, 511, 517, 571, 573. 

584 
"Welsh lots," in Phila.. 225, 228 
Welsh Mtgs. aid each other, 581 
Welsh Mtg. houses, 431 
Welsh Monthly Mtg., 421, 533 
Welsh Mo. Mtg. variously called. 24 
"Welsh mortgage," 401 
Welsh names for R. R. stations, 480 
Welsh non-taxable. 352, 355 
Welsh pedigrees, 279 
Welsh petition about their Meetings, 

371 
Welsh physicians, 25 
Welsh Presbyterians, 487 
Welsh pride. 516 
Welsh purchase as a "barony," or 

"state," 26 
Welsh Quaker emigration to Pa.. 16 
Welsh Quaker land companies of Pa., 33 
Welsh representatives. 317 
Welsh reservation in the city 305 
Welsh Roll of Honour, 25 
Welsh state their grievances, 370 
Welsh tell what was promised them, 

379 
Welsh tell why they came, 378 
Welsh troubles over extra, or bonus 

land, 395 
Welsh Tract, 24 
Welsh Tract acreage, 34 
Welsh Tract affairs, 327 
Welsh Tract "as one Barony." 35 
Welsh Tract ".\ssemblv." 513 
Welsh Tract bisected, 352 
Welsh Tract census, 1600. 381 
Welsh Tract deeds, 339 
Welsh Tract dimensions, 488 



[630] 



H lO^ 2^ 



